Celestial Love
by cheyhiful
Summary: Celeste Kiasco is a Muggleborn girl crushing on Scorpius Malfoy. One problem: he hates 'mudbloods'. But he'll have to get over that when some old Death Eaters decide to torement Muggleborns and Celeste will need Scorpius' help to escape torture or worse.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1:

"Wait up Hermione!" Celeste wailed, chasing down her favorite cousin. Hermione held out her hand for her 2nd cousin and helped her navigate Diagon Alley.

"Anything else dear? We've got all your school stuff and we have to meet Ron, Hugo, and Rosie at their Uncle's shop." Hermione asked.

"I saved up for a new broom." Celeste said shyly. Hermione raised an eyebrow. "What? I worked at George's over the summer and I need a new broom before Quidditch season starts up."

"Alright, we'll get you a broom real quick. Come on Celeste, hurry up darling." Hermione said as they pushed their way to the broom shop. Hermione elbowed her way past all of the boys crowded around the entrance and held the door open for her cousin. Celeste wormed her way inside the door and closed it firmly behind her. The smell of the worn and cut wood was a strange comfort to her as she browsed all of the broomsticks. She looked at all of them, brushing her fingers over them lovingly. She stopped in front of one. This one was nice.

It was obviously new. The handle was polished and shiny, all of the twigs in the tail end in perfect shape. The name Celestial 2007 (**A/N: Just selected a random year**) was embossed on the handle in gold print. Celeste widened her eyes. _Celestial_. It was like fate was pushing the broomstick at her.

"How much for this one?" Celeste asked the shopkeeper. The shopkeeper looked at the broomstick she was pointing at. He chuckled.

"Too much for a girl like yourself. That one is 12,000 Galleons." He replied, and then returned to his work. He didn't see Celeste's jaw drop. Twelve _thousand_ Galleons? Was there a laser beam on the broom too? Merlin's pant's that was expensive. But when Celeste glanced at the broom again, she couldn't stop a pang in her chest. She wanted the broom so bad…

"Oh well." She said glumly. She left the store empty-handed with nothing other than longing for that broom that bore her name. She followed Hermione, depressed, to Weasely Wizard Wheezes, where Hermione's brother-in-law owned the store and all of Hermione's family was waiting. Celeste was sad, no doubt, but her spirits were lightened almost immediately when she saw James and Hugo. They were both chatting animatedly with their families and Celeste immediately passed her things to Hermione, who grunted under the weight of the things, and ran towards them.

"James, Hugo!" Celeste yelled. They both looked up and their faces brightened immediately. She hurled herself towards them into a group bear hug.

"Hey Cel," James said easily, "How are you?"

"Fine, other than the fact that I couldn't get the broom I wanted. The thing cost twelve thousand Galleons!" Celeste replied, indignant. Their jaws dropped so far that if it hadn't been hinged to their face, it would've fallen completely off.

"Oh, never mind me!" Hermione yelled. "Just your wife, mother, cousin, and best friend about to collapse over here." Celeste had forgotten about Hermione. She ran over and helped her set the bags down. When she looked up, she saw _him_.

Scorpius Malfoy walked past, side-by-side with his father. He looked just like him, minus the fact that his hair is short unruly tufts instead of the slicked back style of Mr. Malfoy's. He had the same cold eyes, the same style, the same walk, the same everything. He would normally have been Celeste's prime choice to crush on if not for his behavior. She'd attempted to be friends with him in her first year and the first word out of his mouth had been "Mudblood." Celeste knew what that word meant. It had cut her deep and was the source of all of her insecurities, to know that no matter what she did, she wasn't a pureblood. She could be top of her class, excel in everything, the girl that everyone wanted to be and the only thing she'd want was to be a pureblood.

James saw who she was staring at. "C'mon Cel." He said gently. Let's go this way." He and Hugo dragged her back slightly, but the Malfoy's rounded the window and this time, when Scorpius looked up, he saw Celeste. His lip curled back and Celeste shook her head.

"I can't-I need-he's-Oh, screw it!" she cried and she ran further into the store. Celeste could feel hot tears springing up into her eyes. She didn't like feeling this weak; it made her hate herself with a passion. She shouldn't have run away from James and Hugo; they knew how to help her hold herself together in her weaker moments. She sat down tearfully on a bench well hidden from sight and let the tears flow. This was one wound that had been festering for almost 3 years.

"Celeste?" asked a voice. She looked up to see her employer over the summer, George Weasely, on the stairs. He saw her tears and his face creased in concern. "What's wrong?"

"Scorpius Malfoy." She spat the name like it was a plague. "He-he called me a Mudblood during first year and it's just something I've never really gotten over."

"Hey," he said gently, "being a Muggleborn isn't anything to be ashamed of. Hermione is and she's the best sister-in-law I could have wished for. She's a wonderful mother, a brilliant witch, and a very important person. Just because one person says something, you shouldn't let it affect you this bad."

"It's just-just," she hiccupped, "he always has something snooty to say, to always hit myself confidence, to make me feel like I'm not good enough to walk the halls of Hogwarts."

"What's going on?" asked another voice. She looked up to see another man, this one with unruly black hair like James and emerald green eyes staring at them from the stairs.

"Scorpius Malfoy." George replied. "He's making her feel like she isn't good enough just the way she is."

The man scowled, his face darkening. "The entire Malfoy family is that way. I'd thought maybe Malfoy would teach his son differently after what he went through, but apparently I was wrong."

"You know the Malfoy's?" Celeste asked.

"I went to school with his father, Draco Malfoy. You wouldn't believe how bad he tormented Hermione. The poor girl was never the same after second year." He grimaced.

"Maybe because she was petrified?" George asked.

"I meant when he called her a Mudblood." The man corrected. She was wondering who the hell this was until he flipped his hair to the side and she saw a lightning bolt shaped scar on his forehead and her chest seized. A list of swear words that her mother would never forgive her for thinking, let alone saying out loud, ran through her head. Holyshit, its HarryfuckingPotter. Oh God, oh God. I mean, when James told her his dad was Harry Potter, she hadn't realized he meant _Harry Potter_. And when Hermione told her one of her best friends was Harry Potter, she hadn't really made the connection until now. She quickly locked down her reaction and gazed at the ground. Fuck, she was sitting next to Harry Potter. Just then, James found her.

"Celeste!" he cried, then he saw his dad. "Oh, dad…"

"I take it you two know each other?" Harry asked, somewhat amused.

"Uh…yeah. James is the one who threatened to cave Scorpius' face in if he ever said that to me again." She laughed weakly and Harry couldn't have looked more proud if his son had just been made Minister of Magic at age 14.

"You did, now did you?" Harry asked.

"Yep. And since he hasn't spoken to Celeste since, I'm guessing it worked." James turned his worried gaze on her. "Are you okay? You looked absolutely terrified when you ran away."

She looked at him, then at George, then at Harry, and back to James and smiled. "Yeah, I'm fine."


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2:

**Scorpius' POV**

Celeste. Kiasco. That..._girl_, who was either mad at him or just downright terrified of him. It wasn't his fault! He hadn't meant to blurt that word out that one day on the train, it'd just happened. His father had given him grief over it too. He kept saying that the Wizarding world needed to learn from the Dark Lord's war, that blood status wasn't everything. Draco Malfoy himself had admitted to thinking blood status was everything and that he'd worn the Dark Mark proudly at one point, but after the world was saved by a blood traitor, a half blood, and a Muggleborn, he'd changed his views. He'd tried to impress that upon his wife and son, but to no avail.

His father saw his gaze. "Is that her? Celeste?"

Scorpius lowered his gaze. "Yes."

Draco watched the exchange for a moment and they both watched Harry Potter enter the picture to comfort the crying girl. "You see what words can do son? THAT is why I didn't want you to be raised as I was."

"I'm sorry father."

"It isn't my forgiveness you need to ask for." Draco admonished softly. "Grab Cepheus and find your mother. She should be in Flourish and Blotts." Scorpius nodded somberly, and left, happy to be away. Celeste wasn't a mean or bad person by any means. The word had just slipped out and now James Potter and Hugo Weasely wouldn't let him forget it. Celeste especially wouldn't let him forget it. Anytime he tried to make amends by helping her pick up her books that she'd dropped in the hall or open a door for her, she turned cold and stiff and refused to let him do _anything_. He went to Flourish and Blotts, where his mother had just finished purchasing his textbooks.

"Hello Scorpius." She said lovingly. "Where's your father?"

"Dunno." He muttered. "He told me to find you."

Astoria frowned, muttering something to herself before Vanishing the newly bought books to their home, Malfoy Manor. She smiled at Scorpius and held out her hand for him to Side-Along Apparate to their home, but Scorpius saw her eyes. She couldn't stop wondering what Draco was up to. Scorpius shook himself and decided that if his parents were having trouble getting along, he would cross that bridge when he got to it and not before. He accepted his mother's arm and with a crack, they reappeared in their house. Astoria released her son and immediately walked to the Study, where his parents always talked and sometimes argued, sure that the Study would be the first place that Draco would look for her. Scorpius went up the stairs to his room and closed the door firmly behind him, crossing the room and going to the enormous oak desk that was on the opposite wall. On the desk sat a bowl, similar to a pensive, but not a pensive. Instead of showing memories of the past, it showed what was happening here and now. He leaned over it impassively, catching himself up on current events and such. He was about to leave when the silvery surface blurred and Celeste appeared, surrounded by Hugo Weasely, James Potter, Lily Luna Potter, Jennifer Pond, Kenshin Tomadachi, Albus Potter, Rosie Weasely, and Mairead Carter. She was laughing and giggling with all of them, snickering at something funny.

"But still, that sucks that you couldn't get your broom." Albus Potter said. "I know you wanted it really bad."

"Yeah." Celeste sighed unhappily.

"What kind was it?" Hugo asked.

She smiled. "A _Celestial 2007_."

Mairead whistled. "No wonder you didn't get it, no offense. Those cost a pretty penny. You'd have to save for years to get one of those."

_No you wouldn't_ Scorpius thought smugly. _My dad offered to get me one last year_.

"Nah, not really. I worked full time at Weasely Wizard Wheezes and got a lot of money. If I'd started earlier or taken more shifts, I could have afforded a _Starstruck 2003_." Celeste. Scorpius was reluctantly impressed with her for that. _Starstrucks _were the last generation of brooms. It was like the _Nimbus_' to the _Firebolts_. They weren't brand new, but they were kinda costly. Celeste must have worked her arse off to make nearly enough money for one of those. Of course, she'd been empty-handed at WWW, so he had to assume that she hadn't bought a new broom. She must really want a _Celestial_.

"Scorpius," suddenly came a voice as his mother opened his door and walked in on him. Scorpius jerked and the surface of the bowl went blank. Astoria looked at him curiously as he shoved the bowl behind him and turned, hiding it with his body.

"What were you doing with the Seer?" she asked curiously.

"I don't know, what do you think I was doing?" he asked evasively.

She frowned. "Scorpius."

He sighed. "Just checking on current events, that's all Mother. Merlin, you act like I was doing something illegal."

She didn't abandon the subject. "I heard a girl talking."

"Did it never occur to you that the current events I was checking on involved a female speaking?" he asked, annoyed.

"Don't take that tone with your mother." Draco admonished, appearing by his wife's side. "Now, come with us. We have to tell you something."

"Tell me what?" Scorpius demanded impatiently. Draco arched an eyebrow at his tone and Scorpius hung his head, following his parents obediently.

"Now, what's this all about?" he asked.

"We're not safe." Draco told his son calmly. "Some renegade Death Eaters from the Wizard War a few years ago are trying to make a comeback. They will hunt for us first."

"What do you mean, hunt?" Scorpius asked, panic filling his chest.

"The Malfoy name was involved in the war." Draco said softly, pulling back his sleeve. On his left wrist was the Dark Mark. "They will come to us first to seek sanctuary and ask us to help them in the revolution. They seek to use the darkest of magic, the blackest ever seen or known. They will use Necromancy, an art forbidden to be studied, to raise the one known as Lord Voldemort."

"That's impossible." Scorpius said automatically. "He was killed and his body was destroyed. That's what everyone says happened. You can't raise a person without the body."

"Don't interrupt. Now, you can, you just need a personal effect of theirs. The body is as personal as it gets. But it can be done without the body." Draco continued. "But as it happens, the body was never destroyed.

"It wasn't?" Astoria asked in amazement.

"No." Draco said. "And the reason they will come to me is because I'm the only person alive besides another man who knows the secret as to where the body lies and how to raise it. One must provide the secret, one must provide the effect, one has the power."

"The power?" Scorpius asked.

"Draco, are you sure it is wise to tell him all of this? He is not skilled in Occulemency. Besides, he's only thirteen!" Astoria hissed. Draco waved her off.

"Each generation has one family who can raise the dead. The name has long since died out or been forgotten, but I would not put it past one of the Death Eater's to find the name. Therefore, we must be extra careful. You know the Muggle saying "Stranger Danger?" That applies literally in this case. If you do not see someone you know, run. Run your ass off, then run some more." Draco said. For the first time since beginning the conversation, his brow creased and he looked up. "Ah, Harry. So nice of you to join us."

Scorpius turned to see a man entering the Study. He wouldn't have known who it was except for the one defining mark on his face. A lightning bolt shaped scar. "Scorp, I would like you to meet your new bodyguard for the duration of this school year. Harry Potter, this is my son, Scorpius Malfoy. Scorpius, Harry Potter."


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: If I switch perspectives, I'll tell you in the beginning of the chapter and then the next chapter will either say another person's POV or back to Celeste's POV. Other than that, always assume that it's in Celeste's perspective.**

Chapter 3:

**Back to Celeste's POV**

"Come on Cel, hurry up!" called her best friend, Lyliah Anders. Celeste raced after the small brunette Hufflepuff and gave their trunks to the people on the Hogwarts Express, rushing to claim an empty compartment. Lyliah luckily found one for the two of them, but it filled quickly with people seeking a place to sit. Jenny was squishing her way in between Lyliah and Celeste, mumbling apologies that were half-formed and slightly non-sincere when Scorpius Malfoy appeared in the doorway, breathless.

"Would you mind if I joined you? Everywhere else is full and I have to find seating for two." He asked. Celeste wanted to say no, but Cody beat her and shrugged, saying sure. Scorpius' face filled with relief as he entered the compartment, clutching a calico colored cat to his chest. _No_, Celeste realized when she saw it's slightly plumed tail and large ears, _a Kneazle. _

"Is that a Kneazle?" she asked, unable to contain herself. He looked surprised that she had spoken to him at all.

"Yes. His name is Cepheus. What's your cat's name?" he replied.

She blushed. "Lucifer."

He arched an eyebrow. "Lucifer? As in the Devil?"

"Nah, its cause this one is a hell kitten for sure." She laughed while stroking her yellow tabby, which was stretching across the space to sniff at Cepheus. Cepheus snarled and yowled, swinging a paw at the small cat.

"Cepheus!" Scorpius said sharply, restraining his Kneazle. "Sorry about that."

"Don't be." She found herself saying. "It's in a Kneazle's nature to be territorial of it's owner." She looked over Lucifer to be sure that Cepheus hadn't harmed the young animal, then leaned back against the seat. After about ten minutes of just sitting there with an awkward silence filling the compartment, she decided to read. Struggling, she turned and reached for her book that was in a satchel above her head, but she couldn't quite reach it.

"Crap, could somebody get that?" she asked, sitting down and rubbing her arm, sure she'd pulled a muscle with all of her twisting and turning.

"Allow me." Scorpius said before anyone had said anything. He stood and reached up, much taller than her and pulling the book down easily. He stretched bizarrely close to her and she managed to get a whiff of him. Merlin, he smelled so good…

"Here." He said, handing her the book. He glanced at the cover. "Percy Jackson?"

"Yeah," she replied defensively, "it's about"-

"Greek Mythology, I know." He said with a smile. "I have the entire series at home."

Celeste did a double take. Scorpius Malfoy, a pureblood, read Muggle literature? And he had the entire series? She couldn't stop a tiny pang jealousy. She hadn't read _The Lost Hero_ yet and couldn't find it anywhere. When she muttered about it, he laughed darkly and murmured "Maybe I'll have to lend it to you sometime."

Now it was her turn to laugh. It was unlikely that he would lend her anything ever. She was deep in _The Battle of the Labyrinth _when someone entered the compartment. Barely glancing up, she saw who it was and did yet another double take. Harry Potter had just entered the compartment.

"Scorpius," he said, disapproval in his voice, "What did your father say?"

"To always stay with you." The boy replied, surly.

"You can't just wander off like that." He admonished.

"I thought my dad wanted you to not be seen that way rumors wouldn't fly?" Scorpius countered. Celeste thought he had nerve.

"I thought we established that I don't give a damn what your father thinks. After the hell he's made my life, he's lucky I accepted his request." Harry shot back, nonplussed. "I'm only here because A) I get paid to and B) it'll give me a chance to embarrass the hell out of my kids."

Scorpius leaned back, muttering dark oaths and Harry just smiled. No doubt he was used to them by now.

Celeste couldn't stop staring. Harry Potter was going to Hogwarts? WTFM?

Harry noticed. "His father asked a favor of me and I had to agree."

"I thought you were placed here by the Ministry?" Scorpius shot at him.

Harry glanced down at him. "I see what your father meant."

"What? What did my dad say?" Scorpius demanded angrily.

Harry couldn't stop a smile. "That within one week I'd probably want to put a Silencing Charm on you. And for your information, I was placed here by the Ministry, but your father specifically requested me."

"You got told." Celeste muttered with a smile. Scorpius heard and from the look he gave her, she was sure that he was going to start insulting her again, beginning with the word 'Mudblood,' but to her surprise, he didn't. He just shot her a dirty look and then sat back in his seat moodily. Harry eyed him with mistrust and was quite suspicious and never relaxed his rigid position over the boy, even though he'd resorted to humming quietly while staring out of the window.

It took Celeste a moment, but then she recognized the melody Scorpius was humming. "Is that 'The Battle of Stirling?'" she demanded. He looked at her in apparent surprise.

"Yes. It's my mother's favorite song composed by the London Symphony Orchestra." He replied, and then returned to humming it. "How do you know it?"

"Hermione." Both her and Harry said in unison. "She loves the movie _Braveheart_."

"You don't listen to it?" Scorpius asked absently.

"No, my favorite song is Psycho by Puddle of Mudd." Celeste replied, flipping a page of her book. It was clear that the name confused Scorpius, though he didn't comment or ask. He just shrugged and returned to humming uselessly and staring out the window. Celeste hid a smile and then put her book away, having finished it. She sat there, drumming her fingers against her thigh. She was deathly bored until James came running up with Albus in tow.

"Hey James!" Jenny chirruped excitedly. She looked like a hummingbird, ready to take flight because she was shaking so badly. James shot her a charming smile and then said "Hey, guys, we're getting ready to-Dad?"

Harry looked up, smug. "James."

"Wha-what're you doing here?" he asked, blinking as if not fully registering that it was indeed his father sitting next to his arch nemesis.

"Guarding little Scorpius here as my job." He replied, closing his eyes and reclining in his seat, laying his head

"Wha-What?" James looked like he needed to be slapped or pinched or something because he looked like he was dreaming. "You're joking right?"

"If I was, would I be on this train? I don't honestly want to go back to Hogwarts after all that happened there." Harry replied without opening his eyes. "Now, don't let me stop you. You were going to say something to your friends I do believe?"

"Uh, yeah. You guys know that thing that we were talking about over the summer?" They all nodded. "Well, it's ready. Let's go." Harry smiled when his son didn't come outright and say what he'd originally planned on saying. Celeste thought it was sort of funny as well. She nevertheless got up and followed James through the train. Jenny was literally walking on James' heels, almost tripping, chattering happily and just generally driving James up a wall.

"Jenny," Al said, "take a pause for the cause, will ya?"

Jenny, who was blushing madly, nodded and silenced herself almost immediately. She dropped back and obediently followed the group from the back.

"Okay James," Celeste asked tiredly, "how's this going down?"

James turned and shot her a smile that made her heart freeze in her chest. That smile meant that he was about to, in the words of PJO and all it was associated with, _generally raise Hades._


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4:

"James, I don't think we should do this with Dad on the train." Al said nervously as his brother handed him a plastic bag, a Sharpie marker, and a dog collar. Celeste didn't know what they were going to do with them since she was on lookout duty and quite frankly, she didn't want to know. She just sighed impatiently.

"Al, this is the first chance anyone of us is going to have the chance to do this. If you chicken out now, we'll have to wait until the end of the year to do it and your dad will still be on the train then, so let's just do it and get James off our backs about the Slytherin. Besides, from what I hear, your dad pulled much worse stunts than what we're about to do."

"He had a reason to! The Dark Lord was trying to kill him!" Al shot back under his breath.

"And the Slytherin's all need a lesson taught to them." James said, delighted. "It works out perfectly. Quit worrying. If you pull if off correctly, no one will know it was us, least of all Dad."

Albus sighed in resignment and sagged his shoulders, giving up. Celeste and Mairead went to their posts, wands in hand. When they heard the whistle, they tensed up. It was starting. Someone poked their head out of their compartment and asked "Did you hear that?"

"Hear what?" Celeste asked, uninterested as she filed her nails. "The train? Well _duh_."

"No, it was a whistle." The person insisted. Celeste just looked at them, shrugged, and then turned back to filing her nails. She continued to 'file her nails,' all the while shooting glances around and making sure that no one was alarmed or noticed something was wrong, like the Slytherin's not raising hell or making fun of Muggle-borns. Speaking of Slytherin's making fun of Muggle-borns, she was still wondering why Scorpius hadn't taken a few jabs at her earlier when he'd had the opportunity. Maybe because Harry Potter was there and he was known for being friends of Muggle-borns? Yeah, that had to be it. It was hard to imagine Scorpius Malfoy not taking a jab at a 'Mudblood' if he was able to. He was just like the other Slytherins, constantly laughing at a joke that made Muggle-borns the butt of the joke. Why wouldn't he?

Jenny ran up to her and tapped her anxiously on the shoulder, then pointed frantically behind her. For once, her words had failed her, though it was the worst time possible that she could have learned how to shut up. Celeste glanced behind her, then asked "Teacher?"

Jenny shook her head. "Their dad."

The blood drained out of Celeste's face. She didn't want to get James and Albus in trouble or worse. She told Jenny to stay put and ran ahead just as Harry appeared. She ran to the next train cart and then found James just finishing his handiwork. She tapped the glass anxiously and hurriedly, ignoring the somewhat horrific scene inside the compartment. When James looked up at her, she made a lightning bolt on her forehead and pointed back from where she'd come. James and Al left the compartment hurriedly, going to find a semi-abandoned one and act innocently, Celeste sitting with them.

"Pretend you're talking to us." Al whispered. James began a loud, obnoxious and arrogant conversation with one of the bewildered first years and Harry appeared in the doorway, a 'look' on his face. His look said that he knew that they'd all been doing, he was just going to play along and act like he didn't.

"Celeste, Scorpius wants to talk to you." He said, deeply amused.

"Why didn't he come get me himself?" she asked, unable to keep a smartass tone out of her voice.

He frowned at her. "One, don't use that tone with me, and two, he's not allowed to go anywhere without me and he has to stay where I know he is. This was easier than chasing a thirteen year old boy all over the Hogwarts Express and back just to find one person, especially if I know where that one person is."

She sighed unhappily and followed Harry back to the compartment. Scorpius was sitting there, staring out the window, something like a book clutched in his hands.

"Hey, you, she's here." Harry said. _Hey you?_ Wow, Scorpius got lucky when it came to bodyguards, huh? Scorpius looked up. His face was carefully expressionless as he held out the object (it was a book, like I'd guessed) for her. When she took it, she almost gasped in happiness, forgetting who it was who'd handed it to her. It was _The Lost Hero_.

"I remembered that I packed it right after you left." He said. "I figured you might as well take it since I've already read it."

Celeste looked up in happiness and though_ well, maybe he's not such an ass after all _and hugged the book to her chest. Lucifer lightly scratched her, reminding her of her manners.

"Thank you Scorpius, ohmigosh I'm so happy!" she gushed. He dipped his head in acknowledgement of her thanks, but looked up in surprise when she dropped to the floor, sitting cross-legged, opening the book.

"What are you doing?" he asked, amused.

"Reading it." She replied without looking up.

"You'll finish it before you get to the school!"

"So?" Celeste looked up. "I've been waiting 5 months for this book Scorpius, I'm not going to wait any longer."

Harry looked amused at the exchange. "I'm going to go talk with my kids about the benefits of _subtlety_. You'll be just fine without me for 5 minutes I hope?" He directed the question at Scorpius. He nodded, still staring out the window. Harry left.

Celeste watched Scorpius with an interest for a moment. Either he was bored himself or there was something miraculous that was happening outside the window that required his immediate attention.

"Can I help you fix that staring problem?" Scorpius asked without looking away.

"I was just wondering what was so interesting outside the window." Celeste asked. "But if you're going to take an attitude with me, then I won't even try to be civil."

"Sorry, I don't like it when people stare at me. It makes me feel weird." He replied, still not looking away.

"Oh, sorry, I guess you wouldn't like a 'Mudblood' looking at you at all." Celeste sneered the words before she could stop herself.

Scorpius looked like he was in physical pain when she said that. "Celeste, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to blurt that out that one day. It was an accident, I swear."

"Save your breath." She snapped.

All was quiet for a moment before Scorpius said "At least I tried to make amends. You're holding a grudge that has no point to the bitter end."

Celeste looked up, her vision tinted red. "_Has no point? _You _destroyed_ me when you said that Scorpius! You made me question everything I believed! Everybody had nothing but nice things to say about me and even people I met on spot liked me. Except you! I said one word to you and you called me a Mudblood."

Scorpius looked down at her from the seat, his face twisted in anger. "At least I tried to say sorry." He stood and stomped out, muttering something about he'd be back later.

Celeste shrugged and looked back down at the book.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5:

Scorpius stayed true to his word and came back later, but it was literally 5 minutes before they arrived at the school so that he could get his uniform and change. He didn't look at her or her friends at all and left, Cepheus trailing behind him.

"What'd you do to piss him off?" Lyliah asked in a hushed voice.

"Why do you automatically assume it was me?" Celeste demanded, getting her uniform out herself. "I've got to go change, I'll be right back." She made her way to the girl's bathroom on the train and luckily found it uninhibited. She went in and quickly changed, rolling her regular clothes up into a tight ball of cloth and left the bathroom. When she left, she was just finishing tying her Ravenclaw tie. Unfortunately, when she left the bathroom, Scorpius was leaving the bathroom on the opposite side of the train hall at the exact same moment. He was in his Slytherin uniform, the emerald tie and outstanding shade of green in the fading light that lit up the train through the windows. He looked fucking gorgeous.

But of course, Celeste was so not about to tell him that. She huffed angrily like he was a nuisance and then stomped through the train to the compartment, Scorpius trailing behind her sourly. She went in the compartment and sat down; acting like Scorpius wasn't even there. She opened _The Lost Hero_.

"_…creaked, roared, and charged. The trap sprang. The floor of the crater erupted with a sound like a thousand trash can lids banging together. Dirt and leaves flew, metal net flashing. Leo was knocked off his feet, turned upside down, and doused in Tabasco sauce and oil. He found himself sandwiched between the vat and the dragon as it thrashed, trying to free itself from the net that had wrapped around them both._"

"We're here hon." Jenny said. "Give the book back and put on your game face; it's show time." Celeste nodded and held the book out to Scorpius, though he made no move to take it.

"Did you finish it?" he asked pleasantly, gently locking his Kneazle in its cage. "Down Cep!"

"Uh, no." she replied. "I was a little distracted. Want it back?"

"Keep it." He said dismissively, then grabbed his things and went to get off the train. She watched him leave incredulously. What the hell was going on with this boy? He insults her and ruins her life, is nice to her, screams at her again, then is nice again? Can you say bipolar?

"Come on hon, lock up Lucifer and get your gear, we've got to go." Jenny said, straightening her Slytherin tie and picking up her bags. "We sharing a carriage?"

"Yeah." Celeste said. "Want James to sit with us?"

Jenny turned an ungodly shade of red that didn't have a name and said "Shut up Cel, you don't understand."

"Understand what?" Celeste asked innocently. "That you fell hard for him like you fell off of a freaking cliff?"

Jenny's face brightened and she began to gush. "Oh, but he's so wonderful! He's cute, he's daring, he's funny, he's brave"-

"He's a Potter." Celeste lazily listed off. Jenny got even redder.

"That's not why I like him!"

"It's a factor in why you like him. Come on motor mouth; go get your butt in a carriage and wait for me. I have to track down Luey." Jenny nodded and went to go get in a carriage.

"Luey, here boy! C'mere boy! Where'd you go Luey?" She called. She checked the compartment and turned around in confusion. Where was her cat? She was looking around for him when she saw Scorpius standing lazily in the doorway, her cat curling around his ankles.

"I thought you were already in a carriage." She muttered suspiciously.

"I was, but little Lucifer here followed me and I knew his owner would be worrying about him, so I decided to bring him back." He replied, moody. He waited for her to put Luey in a cage before turning. He paused, and then saw her struggling with her bags. He knelt next to her and picked up the last few bags she had before turning and leaving. She grabbed Lucifer's cage and hurried after him.

"Just what do you think you're doing?" she demanded, chasing him down.

"I thought it was obvious." He replied. "I'm helping you because if I don't, you'll most likely end up falling over."

"I can do it myself." she said coldly.

"If I thought you could do it by yourself, Celeste," he replied, equally cold, "I wouldn't have offered to help. I rarely help people."

"I've noticed." She spat. He sent her a sideways glance and she dropped her gaze, ashamed. He helped her put her bags in the carriage.

"Hey, Scorp, why don't you sit with us?" Jenny asked.

"Do you really want James' dad to be sitting with you?" he replied.

"It'll be worth it; you're a Housemate Scorp, climb on up." She replied. "There's room next to Celeste." She glared at Jenny. She did _not_ want Scorpius to sit next to her.

"If you insist." He sighed, and then retrieved his own bags, sitting gingerly next to Celeste as if she were poisoned or tainted somehow. Harry Potter climbed up and sat next to Kenshin on the end. He was silent, though the look he sent the Malfoy next to her made Scorpius' cheeks blaze and he looked at the ground guiltily. The carriage lurched and began to move. The silence in the air between them all was awkward and it stayed that way until the carriages pulled to a stop at the school.

"With every awkward silence a gay baby's born." muttered a random Hufflepuff who'd hitched a ride with them, earning himself a glare from Kenshin.

"This baby might actually be so gay it's gonna swing around and come off as angry and homophobic." muttered another kid that she couldn't think of a name for. This time everybody glared at them. They seemed oblivious to the hateful stares of the rest of the carriage and made their way to the school. Slowly, the rest of them decided to do the same and got out of the carriage. Harry excused himself for a moment when he saw the Deputy Headmistress Professor Sumati Dalca walking towards him. They had a quiet exchange before Harry returned.

"I'm to meet you in the Slytherin common room to avoid rumors." He told Scorpius, gathering his belongings. James snickered.

"Unlikely." He laughed. Harry sent his son a dangerous look and James' laughs subsided into self-conscious coughs. Jenny didn't notice any of this; she was too busy staring at James, her face full of admiration. Celeste couldn't stop a giggle as Jenny hurried off after him.

Scorpius was watching her intently. "Shall we go?" he asked quietly.

She shrugged, uncomfortable under scrutiny. "Sure."

Scorpius Malfoy stared at her for a second more, and then began the trek into the castle and to the Great Hall.


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Harry Potter is such a gossip…**

Chapter 6:

**Scorpius' POV**

Celeste was just downright irritating, Scorpius decided. She was fine with his company one minute, and then decided to throw a screaming fit the next. She refused help with her bags, yet would go first when he respectfully stood aside for a lady and would accept books from him. Well, the book thing didn't really count. She was a Ravenclaw. She'd accept a book from Jack the Ripper.

Scorpius watched the Sorting with forced and dull enthusiasm. Although his House got many new members, it just didn't really matter to him. Jenny, however, had chosen to sit next to him and whenever they got another Housemate, she'd whoop loudly and go abosolutely nuts, which was driving Scorpius up a wall. He kind of wanted to hex her, or at least spell her mouth shut so she'd stop yelling.

"YEAH!" She screamed once more as some girl named Leucothia Lynn Johnson proudly joined the Slytherin table.

"Jen, for the love of all that is holy and magical, shut up!" he said, covering his ear to protect the hairs inside from further harm. Jenny looked at him, but it wasn't hurt or insulted. Instead it was proud. Smug almost. Like she'd realized one of his deepest, darkest secrets that Scorpius himself didn't know about.

"You should really be more optimistic Scorp. Maybe then Celeste would like you." She said, smirking.

"Excuse me?" he demanded.

"Oh come on! It's obvious you two are crushing on each other!" she exclaimed. "You both argue a lot, you both act like you have better things to be doing than spending time around each other, you both are smart, you both like PJO, you both are the silent quiet type. The list is endless!"

"I do not like Celeste Kiasco." Scorpius practically growled. "Take it back!"

"Not until you admit your everlasting and undying love for her." Jenny replied with a straight face.

"Take. It. Back." He snarled, his hands curling into claws. Jenny smirked, like she thought she could take him.

"I'm a Beater Scorp. Do you honestly want to try and take me because we all know how that will end." She said.

"I do NOT love Celeste."

"Who said anything about _love_? I merely said you liked her. Or is this a confession coming out in a threat?" Jennifer knew she'd gotten under his skin, for it was a skill she was quite adept at and used gleefully. "Don't worry; if you won't admit to it, I'm sure I can get Cel to."

"You mean like how you like James Potter?" Scorpius said triumphantly.

Jenny's jaw dropped indignantly. "Who told you that? Did Celeste tell you that? Oh, I'm going to kill her, she's never gonna see it coming…" Jenny trailed off, muttering viciously under her breath.

Scorpius was sort of alarmed. "No one told me. Actually, if anybody told me, it was you. You could have coolly refused it, but no, you got all indignant about you and demanded to know who said what." He watched in satisfaction as the realization melted over her face. "You're not the only one who can get under people's skin. It's a trait _all_ Slytherin's share Jen."

He turned back to the Sorting, watching it with renewed enthusiasm. It probably helped that Jen wasn't screaming every five seconds. After the Sorting was done and the last Hufflepuff rejoined their table, the feast appeared, conjured by the Headmistress, Professor Athena. Scorpius, who was very hungry, dug in and piled his plate high. About halfway through the meal, he looked up and across the Gryffindor table to where Celeste sat at the Ravenclaw table. He saw her chatting with Lysander, a fellow Housemate of hers. She seemed to feel the gaze on her and looked up, meeting his gaze. She gave him a small smile, the corners of her sky blue eyes crinkling. He timidly returned a smile.

"So who are you looking at Scorpius?" Jenny asked loudly, drawing the attention of quite a few Slytherins. They both immediately parted looks, Scorpius turning to look at Jenny.

"Hmm? What do you mean?" he asked innocently.

"You were looking at Celeste, weren't you?" she asked excitedly, dropping her voice to a whisper so only he could hear.

He glared at her. "No." he said stubbornly. "I wasn't." That said, he returned to his food and his gaze didn't leave his plate for the rest of the feast, despite Jenny's prodding.

* * *

><p>Later, in the common room, people were whispering about how the famous Auror Harry Potter was in the Slytherin common room, lazily lounging next to his arch enemy's son. Scorpius found it irritating; Harry found it amusing.<p>

"It's not funny!" he'd hissed at him.

"It's hilarious!" Harry chortled. "You should hear the stories they've concocted during dinner as to why I was on the train and trying to keep up with you."

Scorpius paused. "How would you know what they were saying during dinner? You were supposed to be down here."

"Ah, but me and my family are notorious rule breakers boy. Just because I'm told one thing doesn't mean I won't do another." Harry replied. "Besides, if any Dark Wizards come after you, I want the first crack at them. I owe them that."

"Huh?"

Harry rolled his eyes. "Let's put it this way: just because you can't see me doesn't mean I'm not there. I was asked to protect you and I'm paid to catch Dark Wizards. Don't think I'm just going to do as told and leave you to the mercy of gossip. Besides, someone has to keep my kids up to date on the Slytherin doings."

"Wait, what?"

Harry smirked. "I'm trading the gossip of Slytherins for chores. My kids are going to be doing grunt work for the rest of their lives until they turn 17."

"You are a piece of work, you know that?" Scorpius demanded.

"I could say the same for your father." Harry pointed out. "But, I'm willing to make a similar deal with you."

"Like?" Scorpius couldn't help himself. He knew this was wrong, but the prospect of always knowing the latest gossip on the Gryffindors was too good to pass up.

"If you promise to behave and do as told and keep up on what you're supposed to," Harry said, "then not only will I tell you what my son says about Gryffindor, but I'll give you twenty minutes alone each day without me anywhere near you to do as you please. The better you are in school and the easier you make it for me to protect you, the more time you'll get."

Scorpius couldn't believe his ears. He'd spent 4 hours trying to get rid of him and here he was just offering up freedom. Yes, techinically it was freedom and time alone that could get him and his family killed or worse, but he was a teenage boy. What did you expect of him?

"How can I be sure you'll honor our agreement?" Scorpius asked suspiciously. "You're already selling out your son and going to give us gossip from your House. I thought Gryffindors were honorable."

"I said I'd give him info on Slytherins." Harry corrected. "I never said I wouldn't give out the gossip he tells me. Therefore, I'm not breaking any deals and I'm still honoring the agreements I've already made. So, you in or out?"

Scorpius thought about it. "Deal."


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7:

**Back to Celeste's POV**

Okay, Scorpius was cute; she'd give that to Jenny. Jenny had been telling her for only Merlin knows how long that she and Scorpius was a great potential couple. Although her mind rebelled at the very idea of dating a Slytherin, a Malfoy no less, she had to agree with Jenny. Jenny always said that Scorpius was cute and had a nice personality once you got past a few of his quirks and prejudices. She'd also assured Celeste that Scorpius doesn't have anything against Muggle-borns, for she was one herself. Therefore Celeste had come to the conclusion that it was her specifically that he had a problem with and was using her blood status as an excuse. But what could he have had a problem with. He hadn't even known her name when he'd snarled "Mudblood" at her. Unless…

Unless he was telling the truth, the word had just slipped out, and he hadn't meant to do it at all. Which was very, very unlikely.

Celeste snorted. Yes, it was _so_ likely that it'd been an accident. He ruins her self-esteem, yet it was only an accident. Lysander, a close friend of hers, looked at her curiously when she snorted, but she shook her head at his demanding look. He wouldn't understand. None of her Housemates understood her gut-wrenching fear/hatred of Scorpius Malfoy.

"So how was your train ride?" Ly asked her, cutting into his food with a vicious furiosity, particularly the pudding.

"It was alright. Read a book, hung out with Luey and Jenny and Mai. Few others." She replied, helping herself to the food.

"That's not what I heard!" said Dana Corner in a singsong voice. Dana was a sucker for some good gossip.

"And what did you hear?" Celeste asked, her voice dangerously shaky. What if she'd heard about the fight between her and Scorpius? Or the fact that she'd reluctantly shared a compartment and a carriage with him? Or that it was his book she'd been reading and had upstairs in her luggage?

"I heard that you were running around with James Potter." Dana whispered loudly, getting the attention of a few Housemates.

"What? Cel, is that true?" Lysander demanded, appalled.

"No, well, yes, but-Okay, I was!" Celeste stammered, flustered under the intensity of the looks aimed at her.

"Celeste!" Mai exclaimed. "Hush up!"

"You know he's a player." Lysander admonished.

"What were you thinking?" exclaimed a fifth year. "Ly's right. You shouldn't be running around with him."

"It wasn't like that; it was just a few practical jokes." Celeste said through clenched teeth.

"Such as…" Dana trailed off, demanding details, probably so she could spread it through the school.

Losing her patience with Dana not for the first time and probably not for the last, she slammed her palms down on the table and screeched "DANA, I DID NOT DO ANYTHING WITH JAMES POTTER!"

As one, several people contradicted "That's not what I heard…"

If she hadn't had a plate of food in front of her, she would have headdesked herself then and there. Oh, the _humiliation_ of having nearly the entire Great Hall start whispering about what James would have done with Celeste while on the train. Or the look Scorpius sent her sometime after that, the one that filled her with butterflies and Lysander saw, foolishly mentioning aloud and drawing the attention of Dana. _Way to go Lysander._

* * *

><p>Back in the common room, she was sitting in a comfy chair next to the fireplace, <em>The Lost Hero<em> in hand and opened. She'd managed to take a good chunk out of it in the time she'd been sitting here. Quite frankly, this was an embarrassment to her skills. She normally finished books like this before the train started moving, let alone back at the castle.

"Hey, Cel." said a person. Celeste looked up and saw Bianca, a second year, motioning towards the stairs. "Bed time. Lights out in five."

Celeste nodded and got up, going up to the girls dorms behind Bianca. She put the book down and tugged on her pajamas, crawling into her bed underneath the hand quilted blanket that her mom had given her first year. She yawned tiredly. It'd been quite a day. She'd not only been forced to confront her fear, Scorpius Malfoy, but she also played a couple pranks, dealt with a gossiping Dana, had been forced to reevaluate her feelings on Scorpius Malfoy to see if she truly hated him, and to top it all off, took a nice chunk out of the book she was reading. It wasn't anything like the things the last generation of Hogwarts students had to deal with, but it was a good start to what she was sure was going to be an excellent year.

Oh, how wrong she was….

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Kay, I know this chappie was really short, way shorter than any of the other ones and I apologize. I promise the next one will be longer and way worth your precious, valuable time as my readers and reviewers. So, to review, go hit the little button that the arrow is pointing at!**

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	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: I did a time skip and this is some months after they arrived at Hogwarts, maybe the end of November. Alright, on with the story.**

Chapter 8:

Celeste rolled out of bed, yawning and stretching. Thank God today was a weekend and she could sleep in. She really didn't want to try and wake up early for class after the few little stunts she, Mai, Jenny, Albus, Ro, and James had all been pulling last night, namely terrorizing Filch. It'd been fun, but it'd taken its toll on the lot of them, for they all had pounding headaches and were running on maybe…four hours of sleep? Three?

Celeste could tell she wasn't the only one who was thankful. Mairead was in deep comatose sleep and didn't look like she was waking up anytime soon. Celeste watched her best friend with a sort of amusement before putting her feet on the floor and walking down to the common room. It was fairly empty, most of the students out at Hogsmede, enjoying their day off. And it was a favorable day too, for the sky looked absolutely beautiful and fair. Celeste lazily exited the common room and walked through the castle, not caring who saw her in her PJ's. She entered the Great Hall and helped herself to the scant amount of food left after her Housemates had gotten to it. She took the time to prepare a second plate, since she knew Mairead would not be getting up anytime soon and when she did, there would be no food left. So she carried two plates of lukewarm food back to Ravenclaw tower.

She stopped at the eagle, carefully balancing the food so that she could knock. When she did, the eagle asked in its beautiful voice "_What common English verb becomes its own past tense by rearranging its letters?_"

Celeste bit her lip. She never had been good with the whole past and present tense thing. She thought about it for a moment before saying "Eat and Ate" firmly.

"Correct young mind." The eagle said and let her pass. She climbed into the common room and went up to the girls dorms. She put the food on a table stand next to Mai's head and then changed into a Coke-a-Cola shirt and baggy sweatpants. She pulled her pink boot slippers out of her suitcase and pulled them on, tucking her sweatpants into them. No much of an outfit change, but she was warm and cozy in it and with it being somewhat chilly today, it was the perfect outfit. She walked back downstairs, said goodbye to her Housemates, and then walked to the library.

The library was her most favorite place on earth. It's high vaulted ceilings and its musty smell of books gave her a comfort like no other. Lucifer often snuck in and sat on her lap while she read, purring contentedly. She waltzed in, shooting a smile to the librarian. Celeste walked over to her favorite book section almost immediately and began to browse books. She was entranced by the books and the promise that they held. She gathered a stack of them and was walking over to a sitting area when she suddenly collided with someone. When she dazedly looked up, she found herself staring into the slate gray eyes of Scorpius Malfoy.

**Scorpius' POV**

His head hurt really bad after that collision with whoever. He was just putting away some books-he hadn't expected to literally run into someone. When he looked up, he was shocked to see that it was none other than Celeste Kiasco, she babying her head as well, for she'd taken the blunt of the hit and had fell to the ground much harder than he had.

"Owww!" She moaned, cradling the back of her head. Obviously, she hadn't been expecting that either, from the looks of it. Harry Potter came around the corner, his face creased in concern as he evaluated the scene before him. He knelt next to Celeste, checking her over, and then evaluating Scorpius quickly. Neither of them was very harmed aside from a minor headache.

"Why don't you two watch where you're going?" Harry asked in exasperation.

"I didn't mean to!" Scorpius said.

"I can't exactly see around a stack of books." grumbled Celeste. Harry just shook his head in resignment and helped them both gather their books. Scorpius picked up one of Celeste's and frowned.

_"Magickal Cures for Everything Magickal?"_ he asked, reading the title. She snatched it away.

"Yes. As it so happens, I want to be a Healer when I graduate." She snapped, then gathered all of her books and marched away indignantly. Scorpius watched her go with some amusement. He couldn't imagine her having the patience to heal somebody or be on neutral grounds, which was required of a Healer. He would know. His dad was a Healer.

"What?" Harry asked, seeming more amused by the exchange than Scorpius was. Scorpius just shook his head and returned the last of his books before returning to the corridors and wandering the halls.

"Is this all you ever do?" Harry asked impatiently.

"I was told to not deviate from my normal routine; I'm doing my normal routine." Scorpius replied, annoyed. "I'm sorry if it's not living up to your standards. I'm not your son; I don't plan revenge on the Gryffindors with my every breath."

"James is a tad prejudiced." Harry admitted.

"Which is strange, considering his brother is in my House." Scorpius commented dryly. "And he helps plot revenge on his own House."

"That would mostly be James coercing his brother into helping him." Harry said. "God, he's worse than I was when I was in school."

"I don't think that's possible." Scorpius contradicted. "The entire school has heard the stories. I think your sons are trying to match those stories, but they can't top them. As far as I know, neither one of them can speak Parseltongue to open the Chamber of Secrets."

"Ah. Common knowledge nowadays, I suppose." Harry said grimly.

"Yeah, that entire bathroom's roped off. No one's allowed in there just in case they didn't know they could speak snake like you in your second year." Scorpius confirmed in an indifferent voice. Personally, he wanted to go down there and see what all the fuss was about, but he knew better than to say anything to anyone. He'd heard all of the stories, and although the basilisk was supposed to be dead, by Harry's doing nonetheless, he knew there was still the possibility that it'd laid eggs before dying and that they'd hatched. The last thing he wanted was to run into a ton of baby basilisks.

"May I ask you a question?" Harry's voice interrupted his thoughts.

"You just did, but go ahead." Scorpius replied. Harry scowled, but then asked "Why don't you hang out with your House like other normal students. It's the weekend and I doubt your father didn't sign your slip to go into Hogsmede."

Scorpius shrugged. "They're too stereo typical about a lot of things. They particularly don't like Jenifer and she's a close friend of mine, so I don't have many friends."

Harry laughed, amused. "A Malfoy with no friends. Funny."

Scorpius ignored him. He was used to people thinking it was funny. Well, he wasn't his father, and people needed to learn that. He was thinking about what Harry had said when Jenny ran up and nearly collided with him again, narrowly missing him and stopping next to them.

"Hey guys." Jenny said, flipping her black hair out of her face.

"Hi Jen. What've you been doing on this fine day?" Scorpius asked.

"Oh, nothing. Just hung with James and Albus for a while in Hogsmede." She replied, her eyes sparkling when she said James' name. Scorpius opened his mouth to tease her about it, but abruptly shut it when she hissed "Say a word about it right now and I'll come after you in the dead of night with a dull butter knife!"

"Fine, fine, fine!" Scorpius threw up his hands in defeat.

"Have you seen Celeste? I haven't seen her anywhere and she's not in her common room." Jenny huffed, as if insulted that the first thing Celeste didn't do when she woke up was her hunt down.

"The library. Wait, how do you know where the Ravenclaw com"- Scorpius said, but Jenny cut him off saying "Thanks, toodles, I've got to go speak with Celeste." Jenny gave Scorpius a quick hug, at which he squirmed uncomfortably, and nodded politely to Harry. Scorpius watched her go and Harry blurted "Is she _always_ that spazzy?"

Scorpius laughed. "Always has been and I think she always will be."

**Back to Celeste's POV**

Celeste was deep in one of her Healer books when Jenny slammed down in a chair next to her. Celeste sighed and put the book away. Jenny would only ever come to the library if it was important and needed Celeste's help in a 'do or die' way.

"Hey _Anguis_." She said, greeting her friend with her loving nickname. _Anguis _meant 'snake' in Latin and it well fit Jenny.

"Hey _Amabat_." Jenny replied, using the Celeste's Latin nickname, which mean 'loved' in Latin. "So, listen, I need your help."

"With?" Celeste asked cautiously. She'd learned that you never just readily agreed to help Jenny without knowing what she wanted first. "If this is about that one thing that you mentioned last month"-

Jenny waved her off. "No, no, not that. It's about James. I wanna ask him out, but I don't know how or when."

"And what do you need me for?" Celeste asked. "You could talk to Al, I mean, he knows James better than I do."

"I can't talk to Albus about dating his brother!" Jenny looked shocked. "This is girl talk hon. I can't talk about this with anybody else."

"Not even Mairead?" Celeste asked.

Jenny waved her hand. "One, she's asleep, and two, she doesn't know me as well as you do."

"Hon, I'm busy!" Celeste said impatiently.

"You have four more years to study to be a Healer, not to mention all the training you'll need after that." Jenny said impatiently as well. "I need your help _now_."

"Fine. What do you want me to do about it Jenny?" Celeste demanded. She got grouchy when torn away from her books.

"Talk to him, find out if he likes me!" She wailed. "I'm not going to subject myself to this torture for no reason!"

"Torture?" Celeste snorted.

"Yes, torture. You don't know what it's like because you've never liked someone. It feels absolutely horrible." Jenny sighed dramatically.

"I wouldn't say I've never _liked_ somebody…" Celeste trailed off, unsure where she was going with this. It was unusual for her to say something like that around _Anguis_ because she'd most likely get drilled for information.

Jenny perked up. "You like somebody? Who? What's his name? Is he cute? Tell me he's cute. Oh, I just got and idea! If everything works out, we could double date! You talk to my crush, I'll talk to yours? Who is it? Tell me, tell me, tell me!" Jenny wailed.

"No, I'm not telling you, and you can expect an answer by the end of the day." Celeste admonished. She'd learned from other people's mistakes to not mention that highly explosive material gossip around Jenny unless you wanted the whole school to know. Jenny was like dynamite with secrets like that. You could tell her to hide it all you wanted, but she was still going to show it off.

"_Amabat!"_ Jenny wailed, pouting. "Why not?"

"Because I'm not entirely sure I like him myself." Celeste admitted. Jenny cocked her head at her, then pointed to the seat Celeste had just risen from. Celeste shook her head. "Do you want an answer or not?"

"That can wait when my bestie is undecided about who her future husband is going to be. I already know who mine is going to be, therefore I can wait." Jenny said, noticeably calmer.

Celeste laughed. "Just because I like him now doesn't mean I'm going to marry him _Anguis_. It's a schoolgirl crush, nothing more. And besides, what if James doesn't like you?"

"One, don't say that or I _will_ shank you and two, he will be my husband, whether he likes it or not. He'll come around to the idea." Jenny sounded much more confident than she should have and it scared Celeste. "Now, _Amabat_, sit or I'll make you."

Celeste knew there was no shaking Jenny once she'd gotten her started. She shouldn't have said anything, but now that she had, she wasn't sure she wanted to walk away. Some part of her knew she needed this and having the opinion of another person who was unbiased (sort of) would help her make her decision. So, sighing slightly pissily, she sat back down.

"Now, what's his name?" Jenny asked calmly.

"I'm not telling you that. You only remain unbiased so long as you don't know who it is." Celeste said.

Jenny rolled her eyes. "_Amabat_, I'm not here to be unbiased. I'm here to be the person that says 'Get your shit together girl and go tell him,' alright?"

Celeste narrowed her eyes. "I'll tell you his name when we're done under the terms that you keep it to yourself and you don't say a word, not a single squeak. This is going to be as deadly binding as an Unbreakable Vow. Understand?"

Jenny nodded, wide-eyed, then rushed on. "Why do you like him?"

"He's cute. He's smart. He's nice. He can appreciate simple things and expensive things without being a complete prat. He sticks up for his friends. He gives people a lot of things without needing to be told to. All of the little simple things he does make him popular." Celeste listed off, giving a small smile.

"Sounds like a charmer." Jenny giggled. "What does he look like?"

"No. That'd be a dead give away." Celeste said.

"Before you tell me his name then?" Jenny prompted. Celeste sighed, but agreed. She would find out anyway, why not?

"Okay, soooo… you usually give everybody you know nicknames, mostly Latin. Correct?" Jenny asked. Celeste nodded. "Did you give him one?"

Celeste shrugged. "I've been playing with a few, but I haven't decided."

"Main choice?"

"I'm thinking it's going to be _Ictis_." Celeste replied, sure that Jenny would put it together. She wasn't a Slytherin for nothing.

To her relief, she didn't. Jenny just looked at her, then plowed on. "His House?"

"He shares it with you." Celeste admitted.

Jenny sat slack-jawed for a moment. "You're crushing on a Slytherin?"

"Yeah, why?" Celeste demanded defensively. "If you're going to be all prejudiced and crap, then I'll just stop now."

"Calm yourself _Amabat_." Jenny soothed. "I was just surprised is all."

Celeste lost her defensive attitude, but her hackles were still raised. Jenny may be a spazz, but she was a brilliant spazz and Celeste knew that there was an 8:10 chance that Jenny would figure it out before Celeste told her who it was.

"Now that I've been through everything, his appearance?" Jenny asked politely.

"_Anguis_…" Celeste trailed off, miserably embarrassed. "Here?"

"Yes, here. Start talking." Jenny said firmly.

Celeste sighed, but she knew she wasn't going to get out of this. "He has slate gray eyes. His face is pointed like his fathers. He looks a lot like his dad, but his hair is short and ruffled instead of like his dads. He comes from a wealthy Wizarding family and usually dresses like his dad, in small suits or robes. He's got tan skin and is really tall. He's not very muscled because he spends most of his time in libraries like me."

The realization dawned on Jenny's face and she made this really weird, strangling sound that eventually devolved into no sound what so ever. She just sat there, silently screaming, until Celeste decided that she couldn't take much more of this. She snapped "Understand now?" and got up.

"You-you're-you…" Jenny said.

"Yes, yes I am. Bye, I gotta go talk to James for you." Celeste hurried out of the library with Jenny following her. She could feel her cheeks heating up viciously and knew that if Jenny followed her and continued to interrogate her, it would only get worse. She quickly turned and hid in a side corridor, hoping that Jenny didn't see her and wouldn't follow her. After ten minutes of no one finding her, she dared to venture out.

"What are you doing?" demanded a voice. She jerked in surprise and turned around, hoping dearly that it wasn't any of her friends. Nope, worse.

"Are you alright?" asked Scorpius Malfoy. "You seem a bit freaked out."

* * *

><p><strong>Sooooo? How did you like it. You'd better be happy with it. This chappie was 3 thousand words long, a little over. I've never gotten 3k words for a fanfiction chapter. My longest was 2,900. Feel proud of your diligently working author. I've skipped two meals today for you all, so now I'm off to to eat, so you can review while I'm gone. Toodles y'all! (Ugh, what on earth possessed me to say that? Y'all? I hate it when people say that!)<strong>

**And now...REVIEW!**  
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	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: Alright, who figured out what Scorpius' nickname (**_**Ictis**_**) means? Google translate it you guys. You'll laugh. It's in Latin.**

Chapter 9:

Celeste jumped. "Yeah…fine. Where's your bodyguard? Isn't he supposed to be with you at all times?"

Scorpius shrugged. "We had an arrangement."

Celeste glanced at him, wondering if he was aware that he hadn't answered her question. He seemed oblivious to her look and she cleared her throat awkwardly. "Well, I've gotta go. See you around _Ictis_." She blurted without thinking. That got his attention.

"Ictis? What the bloody hell does that mean?" he demanded. She just smiled sweetly.

"Figure it out. I'll give you a hint: Ask Harry what happened to your dad in his fourth year." With that said, she turned around and floated to her common room, feeling uncommonly giddy. She'd made Scorpius Malfoy speechless. That in itself was an accomplishment. She was smiling to herself as she walked back to her Tower.

"You seem unusually happy today. May I ask what got your spirits up?" asked a voice off to her left. She turned to see James Potter walking towards her, his arm casually slung over the shoulders of a fellow fourth year girl. She was giggling madly, but her eyes narrowed as she saw Celeste. Celeste remembered that her name was Reysha Gardner, a Hufflepuff.

"I got Scorpius Malfoy to shut the hell up for a moment." She laughed. "Actually, I'm glad you came by. I need to speak with you."

"Alright, what did you need to say?" James asked.

"Alone." She hinted when Reysha didn't move. She huffed as James nodded and asked her to wait, moving his arm off of her shoulders and around Celeste's. They walked around a corner and out of earshot before she turned to him.

"Who do you like?" she demanded.

He blinked. "What? Why do you want to know?"

"It isn't for me, it's for a friend. Now, tell me who you like." She prompted him, cocking her head to the side.

"I'm not telling you that." He contradicted her.

"You either tell me, or I'm going to go get that dull butter knife from Jen and then we'll find out just how much you'll say." Celeste threatened.

He frowned. "I thought you were the nice one."

"I am, mostly. Now talk. I have to go find Jenny and possibly strangle her." Celeste said. "Soooo…? Who do you like? You can tell me, I won't tell anybody, I promise."

"Nobody except the person who's asking in the first place." He said.

She scoffed. "Oh, one person. And they won't tell anybody. They're the quiet type…mostly."

"Forget it Celeste. I'm not telling you." He said, shaking his head.

"Aww, please? You're breaking my heart James! Just tell me?" Celeste teased. "Unless I know her?"

James scratched his head. "Uh, yeah, you know her. Pretty well. You should."

Celeste smiled. Now they were getting somewhere. If she knew her well, that meant it was one of her friends. That made it Jenifer, Mairead, Rowan, Lily, or Rosie. Since the last two were family of his, which ruled them out. It was either Mai, Ro, who it couldn't be since she was only a first year, or Jenny. Of the two, she didn't know who was more likely. It could be Mai, because Jenny was a Slytherin and James (although friends with her) was really prejudiced.

"Is it Mai?" she asked.

"No"

"Jenny?"

"No."

She frowned. "Who then?"

He hesitated. "You."

What the fuck?

* * *

><p><strong> Jenny's POV<strong>

She couldn't find Celeste anywhere. Knowing her, she'd probably escaped, but since she was a loyal friend, she'd gone to find James and interrogate him. That was alright. She could go find Scorpius. She'd known that Cel had liked him; it had only been a matter of time until she got her to admit. And now that she had (well, she hadn't _really_, but Jenny was pretty smart and could put two and two together), it was game time. Jenny rounded the corner and saw Scorpius sitting on a ledge with Harry nearby, leaning on the wall. She walked up.

"Hi Scorp!" she said brightly. "Got some news for you!"

"Mine first." He said. "What the hell does Ictis mean?"

"Ohhhhh, that." She laughed. "Yeah, I'll tell you after I tell you what I found out. Ready for this?" Scorpius nodded eagerly, though she thought it was partly only because he was going to find out the meaning of the name that Celeste had either told him or just let slip.

"Celeste likes you." She said bluntly. Scorpius' jaw dropped. He hadn't been expecting that.

"No, she doesn't." he contradicted her, more trying to reassure himself than her. "She can't have. She was just here and she seemed perfectly fine. If she likes me as much as you've been saying all these years, then she should have at least been ner….vous." he finished lamely, as if remembering something.

Jenny smiled in triumph. "When you just saw her, she seemed panicked, didn't she? Like she didn't want to talk to anybody, least of all you? That's because I just finished prying the secret out of her in the library, _right after you left_. She likes you Scorpius, make no mistake. That's one Muggle-born crushing on a pureblood." She smirked as the realization came over his face. Harry watched him with some amusement.

"That sucks for James." He commented dryly.

"Why, what about James?" Jenny suddenly demanded with a fury that didn't match her at all. Harry looked slightly taken aback.

"Because he's crushing on her." He said slowly, as if it should have been obvious. "At home, for the past three years, it's been 'Celeste this' and 'Celeste that.' He freaking loves her. That's why he doesn't like you"- he motioned to Scorpius- "talking to her. He knew she was somewhat crushing on you and not him, so he drew her away from you."

Jenny's face looked bleach white. Scorpius realized what she was about to do a moment before she did it.

"Jenny don't do it." He cautioned, hopping down and holding his arms out cautiously, like he was trying to calm down a tiger. "Just let it go and you can talk to Celeste later. You know she likes me. Don't worry. There's no competition between the two of you."

"Okay," she nodded, "yeah. Talk to Celeste later. Yeah. We'll, we'll talk…"

Relief creased Scorp's face before she screamed at the top of her lungs "I'M GONNA KILL HER!" and took off running towards where she'd seen James walking with Reysha while she was looking for Scorpius. She could feel Scorpius hot on her heels, all the while yelling "JEN, COME BACK HERE! IT ISN'T WORTH IT! JENNY, SHE'S YOUR FRIEND!" at her backside. She knew that without a doubt that Harry Potter was probably hot on Scorpius' heels, trying to restrain him and failing.

After about 3 minutes of running at a flat-out sprint, she felt herself begin to tire and pant. Beaters weren't built for speed, they were built for muscle. She realized that the only reason Scorpius hadn't caught her yet was because he was intentionally lagging behind. Once she was too tired to sprint, he would catch her and he would stop her. There was only one solution. She had to get there before he did.

She rounded and corner and saw Reysha. "Where's James?" she demanded.

Reysha pointed moodily around the corner. "Around the corner with Celeste. She wanted to talk with him alone."

Jenny rounded the corner just in time to hear James say "You" and watch Celeste stare at him blankly. Then her eyes rolled back into her head and Celeste collapsed on spot. All of Jenny's fury vanished and she crashed onto the floor next to her best friend, cradling her head to make sure she didn't hit it.

"Celeste? Celeste, look at me hon." Jenny said worriedly. Scorpius fell on the ground next to her and immediately began checking her. Harry caught up to them and took over. A moment later, he pronounced "I think its just shock that made her faint."

**Back to Celeste's POV**

"You got that right." Celeste murmured, sitting up. She rubbed the back of her head, then looked at Jenny almost guiltily. Jenny helped her up and dragged her around a corner.

"Jen, I'm so sorry, I didn't kno"- Celeste began, but Jenny cut her off.

"If you ever collapse on me like that again, I'm using my dull butter knife on you." Jenny threatened, then hugged her best friend. "I mean, when I saw you fall like that I didn't know what it was from. It could have been the shock, it could have been stress, it could have been your condition, it could have been"-

Now Celeste cut Jenny off. "I'm fine Jen. I was just surprised is all. But still…you're not mad at me?" Celeste asked the last question hesitantly.

"Merlin, no! I can't blame you! It's just…I liked him so much…" Jenny finished miserably. "But, I guess if he likes you than I'll just have to drop that"-

"Don't you finish that sentence _Anguis_. We will get _Filius_ to like you even if it kills us. Remember what you said in the library?" Celeste said fiercely. Jenifer smiled at Celeste.

"Yeah. I remember. You promise?" she asked.

"I promise. Now come on, let's go talk to Mai. She's always good with plans. And even Al, if you're willing to let him know." Celeste said, walking away determinedly.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Alright, a few things before we depart.**

**1-Orange, before you even say you wouldn't react like that, think about it like this: what if James had been Sylar or Darren Criss? You would have reacted like that.**

**2-Every one of Celeste's friend's is going to be given Latin nicknames, hence why she referred to James a **_**Filius**_**. It means 'elder son' in Latin.**

**3-I know, right? Celeste has a condition? What?**

**4-Ideas for how this is all going to work out?**

**5-Review and I'll give you cookies. **

**6-Go hit the little blue link to tell me the translation of Scorpius' nickname, if you've figured it out. First to awnser wins a million dollars given to them in the form of chocolate.**

**Now that I have your attention, I should probably tell you that the cookies are chocolate chip. No one can refuse chocolate. No one. And, if you're the first reviewer for this chappie, you'll get a free Nunicorn for your troubles.**

**Now, FLY MY PRETTIES!**

**I just had to do that.**


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: The grand prize goes to Aurora Borealia for being the first to guess Scorpius' nickname correctly. His nickname, **_**Ictis**_**, means Ferret in Latin. So, AB, here are your chocolate chip cookies worth $1,000,000 and you Nunicorn. His name is Chubby. Love him or else Jenifer will lend me her dull butter knife.**

**And thank you everybody else who reviews. Every time somebody reviews my works I feel good that someone else is reading my work and likes it and cares enough about it to want more. It's a tiny ego boost. It makes me say "Hey, I'm not just writing to read it online myself"**

**(I tried my best to alter the line "I'm not just talking to hear myself talk" but it didn't really work. Edits on that?)**

* * *

><p>Chapter 10:<p>

"Merlin, I can't believe we're about to do this…" Celeste whispered to Jenny as they waited by the exit to go to Hogsmede. Jenny nodded in agreement. They were waiting for James and Scorpius. James had (blushingly) asked Celeste on a date to go to Hogsmede with him and Celeste was too nice to say no to him. So, Mai had suggested that Jenny tag along with Scorpius and make it a double 'date.' Oh, of all the things to do…

"Well, at least he hopefully won't like you after this." Jenny said meekly.

"Unlikely. He's liked me for three years according to Harry. One date of me acting the opposite of what he likes is so not going to get him to hate me." Celeste replied back, tugging at her blond hair. They were both being the girly-est they could. Her long blonde curls had been pulled up into two high ponytails with sparkly hair ties and she wore thigh high socks, a poufy blue skirt, a ruffled shirt with a high empire waist, boots that went to her calves, and a really thick sweat shirt. They were topped off by her Ravenclaw scarf and hat and gloves. Jenny was dressed similarly, with minor differences. Her black hair had been curled into ringlets and fell down her back in the tiny spirals. Her shirt was black and also had a high empire waist. She word a black sweater over that. She had on a green skirt and also had on thigh high socks and heels. She also wore her House scarf and gloves and hat, emerald green and silver. Both girls wore makeup, which felt bizarre and unnatural against their skin.

James came around the corner, Scorpius trailing behind him with his father. Scorpius was glaring at James' backside viciously. Celeste wondered what James had said to make Scorpius so upset. James saw Celeste and Jenny and stopped dead in his tracks, stunned. These were two girls that were never caught dead in Abercrombie and Fitch clothing, yet now they were decked from head to toe in it. Scorpius too seemed a little bewildered, though he'd been let in on what was supposed to go down on this 'date.'

"Ready?" Jenny hissed under her breath.

"Ready as I'll ever be to go on a date with my BFF's crush." Celeste muttered back. She took a deep breath and pasted a fake smile on her face, beaming at James.

"Hi Celeste." James said uncertainly.

"James!" Celeste squealed. "You came! Yay. Alright, now, we've got to get going. I'm hungry and I'm cold and I don't want to stand here anymore." She looked at Jenny as if to say _Your turn_.

Jenny took a small breath, and then embraced Scorpius in a back-breaking hug. "Oh, Scorp, I'm so glad you're here!"

"Uh, yeah, I'm here." Scorpius struggled to say something. Celeste wanted to slap him. They'd been over this; they'd reviewed what was supposed to happen for a _week_. He knew his lines! And he said _that_?

"Well, I guess we should get going, huh?" James stammered, a modest shade of pink.

"Ooooh, yes, let's. I dib a spot next to you!" Celeste exclaimed, then grabbed his hand and hugged his side. James already seemed vaguely freaked out, or maybe it was just the initial shock of seeing her all dressed up. Either way, if she kept this up, it wouldn't be long before he was telling her it wouldn't work out.

**Scorpius' POV**

He so hadn't been expecting that. Then again, he should have. He'd been told exactly what was going to go down on this 'date' and exactly what to say and how to act. Albus, Harry, and Mairead were all sympathetic to the predicament that they were all in, and although they didn't want to hurt their family, they knew exactly what James liked and didn't like in Celeste. They were determined to smother the parts he liked and nourish the parts he didn't. The parts he didn't like were her possessiveness over things and her heavy metal side. He also liked that she was humble and down to earth. Welcome the Pretty-and-Pink punk rocker that they'd created. Hell man, they even had Aberforth in on this, because they were going to his pub. Harry was even coming along under his Invisibility Cloak to tell them if they were doing alright.

Jenny crushed herself to Scorpius, though he still hadn't gotten over the blunt sight of seeing Celeste how she was. She looked pretty, there was no doubt about that. But, it just wasn't…her. She looked fake hanging onto Potter's arm, smiling like she was one of his other ignorant bimbo's. A wild, alien surge of possessiveness erupted in him and he stopped looking at Celeste, switching his gaze to Jenny. She looked pretty as well, but still different. He was used to seeing her in her Hogwarts uniform or sweats. Not body clinging clothes and skirts. It just didn't seem right to see them like this, but he had to play his part. He struggled to remember what he was saying. Jenny blinked, her glittery eyeliner distracting him.

Jenny embraced Scorpius in a back-breaking hug. "Oh, Scorp, I'm so glad you're here!"

"Uh, yeah, I'm here." Scorpius struggled to say something after that. _'Yeah, I'm here?' _What kind of idiot was he? He knew he'd said something wrong and it was all he could do to not cringe when Jenny glared at him violently. Celeste as well shot him a dirty look and he forced himself to meet her gaze while still looking all 'high and mightier than thou,' which was hard to do because he didn't like thinking like that. She suggested they set off and they did, getting many stares along the way. Oh, shit. This was going to be a field day for Dana. She'd be comparing notes with Alyssa Edgecombe before they got back and would have rumors circulating before the night was over.

They got to Aberforth's pub and sat down; Celeste curling herself to James' arm like her life depended on it. He seemed disturbed by the fact that he suddenly couldn't move his arm. He tried to gently disengage her, but she refused to let go, snarling angrily when he tried to ask her to move. Jenny mimicked her, only when Scorpius asked her sweetly to gently loosen her grip, she did so and lovingly laid her head on his shoulder.

"Celeste, I need to eat." James said, trying to shake her.

"Use your other hand. I'm never letting you go." She murmured against him.

James sent her a 'look' that Scorpius didn't miss and Celeste pretended to. He reluctantly lifted his left arm to eat with and Celeste picked at her food and mostly pushed it around her plate. Jenny, however, had completely devoured her plate and then some. She was grinning wolfishly and Scorpius had to prepare himself for what he had to do next. This was going to be weird.

He leaned over and swiftly kissed Jenny on the cheek, murmuring "I love you" against her warm skin. Jenny turned somewhat pink, though she too turned and gave him a small peck on the cheek, saying "And I love you" back. James watched them curiously.

"So how long has this"- he motioned between the two of them-"been going on?"

"Since middle of the summer." Jenny said quickly before Scorpius could say anything. "I visited his place, then asked him out a week later." She nuzzled Scorpius to emphasize her point and he reluctantly intertwined fingers with her. He wondered how long this would have to go on for. He didn't think he could keep kissing his best friend and keep his sanity. Especially when said best friend was in love with the person sitting across the table practically attached to the other best friend.

"And how long have you liked Celeste?" Scorpius replied, his eyes cold and hard.

"Since I saw her in her first year, when she was sorted into Ravenclaw." James replied proudly. "Even then, she was beautiful."

"Awww, thanks James!" Celeste exclaimed. "And I always though you were cute too. Always."

Scorpius couldn't help but be a little jealous. He knew she liked him, a lot. But she'd never said anything like that about him. Never looked at him with those eyes. Never said anything to him period.

He crushed down his emotions by clenching his fist. Unfortunately, that happened to be the exact same hand holding Jenny's hand. She tolerated it for a while, even squeezing back and smiling. But after a certain point, he clenched his hand too far and she muttered "_Ow_" under her breath from behind clenched teeth and Scorpius immediately released her hand from his, allowing her to flex her fingers quickly. Celeste looked at them curiously, but Scorpius waved her off irritably and they continued the conversation.

"So Celeste, what type of music do you listen to?" James asked.

"Heavy screamo, mostly." She replied sweetly. "Stuff like Avenged Sevenfold, Metallica, System of a Down, all of that. I'm really into that kind of stuff. You?"

"Uh," he blinked, "The exact opposite. And I listen to Wizard Rock, not Muggle."

"Oh, that sucks." Celeste said it mechanically, like it was a line she didn't really believe. In fact, she sounded giddy about it, but that was to be expected, since she was acting like an overly excited airhead.

"It's alright, music won't separate us." James said, throwing his arm over Celeste and finally relaxing.

**Back to Celeste's POV**

Celeste had never wanted to slap James so bad in her entire life. Sure, there had been moments where she'd been so mad at him she could have gone to Azkaban for his murder, but he always knew what he'd done wrong and fixed it almost immediately. This time, however, he didn't and it pissed her off. The audacity to believe that he could just sit there with his arm over her shoulder like she belonged to him! But she had to play along with it. She had to. Well, she didn't really have to; it was more like she couldn't say no to James. She couldn't say no to anybody usually. She was just that type of person. And she didn't want to hurt James. So that was why she was here. Now she sorely wished that she could just tell him that she didn't like him and that was that.

Her life couldn't be that simple, apparently. Now she was caught in a love rectangle that two of them were unwilling participants in. Well, technically, if you included all the help she'd been getting, it was more like a pentagon.

Yeah, her life couldn't be that simple.

_Tell him what your favorite song is _whispered Harry to her from underneath his Cloak.

"My favorite song is "She's Like Heroin" or "Psycho" by System of a Down." Celeste immediately said.

"'She's like Heroin' wins every time hon." Jenny admonished. "Hands down."

"Nah, I like the part in "Psycho" when he's all like: _'Psycho! Groupie! Cocaine! Crazy! Psycho, Groupie, Coke, makes you high, makes you hide!_'" Celeste argued, singing a lyric.

"_She's like heroin, sipping through a little glass, I'm looking for some help, I need someone to save her ass_." Jenny countered.

"Nope," Celeste shook her head. "Second best. Psycho wins."

"What about "I-E-A-I-A-O?" Scorpius asked. Both girls looked at him in surprise.

"What?" he asked innocently. "I listen to music too."

"Yeah, but SOAD?" Celeste asked, abbreviating the name. "I didn't think you were the type to listen to heavy metal, especially when this particular bands motto is 'Fuck the police.'"

"'Fuck the police?'" James asked.

"Yep. They're really against the government." Jenny replied. "Most of their songs are extremely morbid. I have Cel to thank for getting me addicted."

"Only given in thanks for you addicting me to Slipknot." Celeste replied, smiling at her best friend with false sincerity.

James looked between the two girls and Celeste though he must have thought he was crazy.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: So, you guys found out what type of crazy music I listen to. And yes, they are extremely heavy metal. So unless you feel like listening to music you can't really understand or don't even like, I advise you don't look them up...Okay, that's a lie. You should look them up, because they're really good and fun to headbang to.**

**And here is a picture of the clothes the girls were supposed to be wearing on their dates:**

http:/www(.)google.(com/imgres?)q=girly+winter+clothes&hl=en&gbv=2&biw=792&bih=468&tbm=isch&tbnid=r6xA(g9oD2gLuLM:&imgrefurl=).&docid=vclxMMCxnGmRIM&w=(388&h=313&ei=jTZFTtTZDfSnsALJ0piSCA&)zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=489&vpy=137&dur=394&hovh=202&hovw=250&tx=81&ty=162&page=4&t(bnh=142&tbnw=202&start=20&nd)sp=6&ved=1t:429,r:2,s:20

**That is a long URL. I put random parentheses in there, so if you truly want to see their outfits, I'll PM you the link somehow. Just ask. But it looks like this link will work, provided you take the little ()'s out.**

**Now, go review for another shot at winning a Nunicorn.**


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11:

"That was the most awkward time of my life." Celeste groaned, telling Mai all about the 'date.' Every thing they'd thrown at him hadn't worked. He liked that she was now clingy, got over her music taste, and ignored the fact that she dressed like a walking glitter factory, and continually made it a point to hug or kiss her goodbye or at least have his arm on her.

"Oh, come on! It couldn't have been that bad." Mai objected.

"Oh, it was." Celeste said, eyeing her seriously. "I'm starting to think that there will be no shaking him."

"It's only been one date." Mai said patiently. "I'm sure that after maybe 3 others, he'll leave you alone."

"_Three?"_ Celeste cried. "I like James, but having him kiss me goodbye is just..."

"Weird?" Mai suggested. Celeste shrugged; it was better than the word she'd been about to blurt.

"And then of course there's Jenny and Scorpius tagging along every time." Celeste sighed.

"We have to show him that Jenny is a better potential mate than"- she cut off abruptly. "Oh, wait, you were talking about Scorp. Oh, kay, got it. I take it Jenny told him."

"Almost immediately." Celeste murmured. "I knew she couldn't keep her mouth shut."

"Nah," Mairead said, "she can. She's known who I like for forever. I think it's only because you're her closest friend and she's a little _too_ eager for you two to finally become an item."

"A little too eager is an understatement." Celeste muttered. "Now I can't sit across the table from him without wanting to switch Jenny places."

"Don't worry. I'm sure this will all work itself out in time. I promise." Mairead said. "Now, you seem a bit stressed, so why don't you go and take a bath, get rid of the glitter, change into something a tad more comfortable, and we'll sit around and read _Hogwarts, A History_ together. Sound like a plan?"

Celeste nodded. She was so glad Mairead was in her House. She'd met Mairead right after she'd met Jenny on their first time aboard the Hogwarts Express. It was nice to have someone who understood you to talk to when your other best friend wasn't allowed into your common room, lest she be torn apart by vengeful Ravenclaws.

Celeste wearily trudged up the stairs to the girls dorm, her feet dragging. Once she was up there, she grabbed a comfy pair of yoga pants and a tank top and a cozy sweatshirt, going to the girls bathroom and marking it _Occupado _for all to see. She ran some boiling hot bathwater and slipped in, relishing the warm water after the cold day. Her blonde hair floated in tendrils around her and she sunk beneath the water, shaking the glitter off of her body the best she could. During all this, she tried to think about what she really thought about Scorpius.

The pros:  
>She liked him.<br>_Okay, that has been established already.  
><em>He was cute.  
><em>Well Duh!<br>_He was really smart.  
><em>A quality Ravenclaws admire.<br>_He was nice.  
><em>She wanted somebody nice.<br>_He was giving.  
><em>How exactly did she know this? He'd given her a <em>book.

And the cons:  
>He was prejudiced.<br>_He was a Malfoy.  
><em>She didn't know if he liked her back.  
><em>Boys were so difficult to read.<br>_Their relationship might cause gossip.  
><em>Scorpius downright hated the press.<em>

What else was there? Her biggest problem it seemed was that he was prejudiced and the theory that purebloods were better had been pounded into his head for eleven years before she'd met him. He wasn't exactly going to just immediately let go of those ideals because she batted her baby blue eyes at him! She just liked him so much…

Celeste sighed and leaned her head back against the edge of the tub. Why did love have to be so damned complicated? Couldn't she just have the simple life she wanted? But then again, if her life was simple like she wanted, she probably wouldn't be a witch. Celeste couldn't handle it if she weren't a witch. If a bit of drama meant being a witch, she'd take it gladly.

_Okay, you're getting off topic_ Celeste thought irritably. _Think: why would you see Scorpius Malfoy as something worth fighting for, beyond how he looks?_

She thought and thought. But she couldn't come up with anything. It seemed that she only liked him because he had a pretty face that was nice to look at. For some reason, that upset her terribly and she began to tear up. She desperately wanted a reason to see _Ictis_ as someone she wanted in her life and would fight tooth and nail for, but there wasn't one. He was cute, that was it.

_But what about all of the pro's?_ demanded the tiny voice in her head that stuck up for him. _They outweigh the cons._

_The cons are just a bit more powerful I guess,_ Celeste thought glumly. She dried her tears and finished her bath, drying herself off and getting into her clothes. When she went back downstairs with semi-wet hair, she couldn't see Mai anywhere. That was odd. She'd promised to read with Celeste. And she hadn't been getting her book, otherwise Celeste would have seen her in the dorm. Where was she?

"Um, excuse me, Daisy?" Celeste asked, gently tapping a first year on the shoulder. "Have you seen Mairead lately?"

Daisy shrugged as she poured over her textbook. "Dunno. She got up after you left saying something about Slytherins and their damned inability to let things go."

"Thanks." Celeste said, getting up and walking to the door. Mai had gone to see the Slytherins. Great. She knew that they were only supposed to go in one another's common rooms on break and when they were empty to avoid being seen. What the bloody hell was Mai doing?

Celeste stormed through the hallways, going towards the Slytherin dungeons. She was just passing the library when she heard a soft voice say "May I speak with you Scorpius?"

It was Mai. She was in the library? What for? Then she remembered who she'd spoken to. _Scorpius._ Why in the bloody hell and in the name of all that was magical, was she visiting Scorpius in the library?

"Sure." Scorpius said politely. "What do you need?"

"We have something to ask you." Said Jenny's voice and Celeste realized Jenny was there as well. "Please answer us truthfully."

"Kay, go ahead." Scorpius said.

"We want to know your feelings on Celeste." Mai said bluntly.

Celeste's breath caught and she heard Scorpius hesitate. "She's a very sweet girl and her crush is very endearing to me. But she'll always only be a friend, if that you guys."

"Thank you for your honesty." Jenny said quietly. Celeste backed up quickly and turned on her heel. Hot tears sprang to her eyes, though she knew they were irrational. She'd known the chances of him liking her back were around slim to nothing, but it still hurt like a sharp, rusty, serrated blade got lodged in her chest and with every breath she took, it got jostled and only caused more pain. She rounded a corner and since her hands were in her eyes, wiping away tears, she didn't see the person standing there. She collided with James and collapsed to the ground, striking her head sharply. He groaned and sat up, but Celeste rolled around and held the back of her head.

_No, no, no, don't faint._ She growled at herself. _Don't do it. You know what will happen if you do. James doesn't know and Jenny isn't here, don't….don't…don't pass ou…pass..out…_

Celeste saw the blackness looming on the edges of her vision and couldn't fight the unconsciousness that washed over her.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Remember that condition I told you about a few chappies ago? Well, it's manifesting and it's bad. What shall happen next? *****Cue ominous music as I walk out the door, my Billowy Cloak of Doom that I borrowed from Snape flying out behind me***


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N: The spaces in the name of her disease are only there so that it all shows up and isn't blinked out like a URL or something.**

Chapter 12:

When Celeste woke up, her head was throbbing. She held a hand to her temple and woozily sat up. Gentle hands stopped her and gently pressed her back down. She cleared her head and got her bearings before blinking rapidly and glancing at the person taking care of her.

Draco Malfoy was towering above her, his eyes focused on something. She flinched, but he prevented her from asking any real questions or saying anything in general, for he shoved a glass at her and ordered her to drink it. Obediently, she held the glass to her lips and swallowed the entire glass. Once that was done, he took the glass and swapped it for one filled with water. Since she had a serious case of 'cotton-mouth' going on, she appreciated it and greedily gulped the liquid down. She handed the glass back to him and asked "Where am I?"

"St. Mungo's." he replied. "When you collapsed and Madame Pomfery was unable to wake you for over 10 hours, they sent a team of Healers to retrieve you. You've been unconscious for about two days."

"I missed two days of school?" she demanded, sitting upright really fast. Suddenly, the world tilted and twirled at 360 degrees and she slowly sat back down.

"Quit trying to sit up!" he snarled. "You've been unconscious for two days and are sick! You'll only make yourself worse! I'd have thought a girl who wants to be a Healer would know that."

"What's wrong with me?" she asked impatiently.

"You have disease." He began slowly, "that hasn't been seen in centuries."

"What disease?" she demanded irritably.

"There is a vessel in the back of your neck that carries blood to your brain. When there is irregular pressure applied, the blood supply to your brain is shortened or cut off and you faint." He replied.

"I don't get it. Why does that make it a disease and one that I should be concerned about? And how was crying irregular pressure?" Celeste asked.

"Once the blood flow is cut off to your brain, you can't get it back. It took all of Madame Pomfery's skill to keep you alive long enough for us to pick you up. My team of Healers has been working around the clock to keep you from becoming a vegetable." Draco said quietly. "It wasn't crying that was the irregular pressure. Remember, you and James Potter collided. If James Potter hadn't been there to sound the alarm and carry you to the Hospital Wing, you would have been dead ten minutes later, probably much sooner."

Celeste's world suddenly stopped turning. "I what?"

He looked at her. "You owe your life to James Potter right now."

"I heard you. That 'what' didn't mean 'what did you say' it meant 'I'm giving you a second chance to tell me what you just said and it'd better be something different.'"

"You want something different? Fine. How about the fact that it's incurable since it technically isn't a disease, it's a biological disorder. You keep stressing yourself out like this and you'll be dead within a month."

"And this won't stress me out?" Celeste demanded. She could feel hot tears welling up. This was deadly? Muggles passed out all the time and it wasn't life threatening for them! When she mentioned this, Draco shook his head sadly.

"It's directly linked to your magic somehow. We've taken samples of your blood, but we make no promises." He replied. "Some people have been waiting for you to wake up. If you would like to see them now, I'll go let them in."

She nodded. She really needed some company right now. He turned and cracked a door, whispering "She's awake now. Don't stress her out, but you can come in and see her."

When he stepped out of the way, James barged through the doorway, closely followed by Jenny, Mairead, Rowan, Albus, Lysander, and to her utter surprise, Scorpius. After them, in filed the adults: Harry and his wife, Hermione and Ron, the Carters, Luna and her husband, and George. They all swarmed her bed. Draco ended up having to shove and elbow his way through the crowd that had formed around her in order to see his patient.

"Great Merlin, what happened to you?" demanded James. Celeste's throat constricted and she looked at Draco. He dropped his gaze for a moment before looking at them all and saying "Her disease is known as _Steno poikilo ankylo vaso tensive steno sisrr stasis_. It means that when blood supply is cut off to her brain, it's cut off for good. She's lucky to be alive right now."

James looked at Malfoy, then at Celeste in amazement. "Is that true? You would have died?"

"Apparently." Celeste shrugged, embarrassed. "I guess I owe you my life, huh? Can I give you a thank-you hug?"

In a daze, he nodded, but had to kneel down to her level, for she couldn't sit up. She turned her attention to Jenny, who was glaring at her with the utmost anger she'd ever seen.

"Jen?" Celeste asked nervously. Jenny shoved James out of her way and hugged her fiercely.

"Don't you ever scare me like that ever again!" she snapped. "I was so scared." Jenny choked up and Celeste could feel her crying.

"Shhhh. I'm fine now." Celeste soothed her. Then what she'd said hit her and she looked at Draco Malfoy. "I am fine, right?"

He cocked his head slightly. "For now, perhaps. We don't know when this will happen next, so I think it's best if you stay for a day more and have a few more tests. And when you go back to Hogwarts, I'd like to accompany you so that if it does, we can at least keep blood flowing."

"Does that mean I can go home?" Harry asked. Draco shot him a 'look,' but never the less nodded and said "Yes, if I'll be there, I don't see why you must be there." Harry looked relieved, but when he looked at Celeste, his face quickly became concerned.

"You don't have any Wizarding family, do you?" he asked softly.

Celeste shrugged. "I have Hermione, who's my second cousin, but that's it."

All of the adults began to murmur at the same time and Harry motioned for them and Draco to take this conversation outside so the children could be alone. Celeste watched them go and then turned her attention to her friends. None of them spoke, worrying too much about Celeste. Eventually the silence became too much and she snapped "You know you guys, I'm not going to shatter if you talk to me. I'm not a porcelain doll."

"It's entirely possible." James said seriously and no one contradicted what he said. Instead they all agreed with him.

"I'm not going to break!" she yelled. "You all act like I'm on my deathbed, when if I wasn't in here, you wouldn't hesitate to start a brawl with me. Quit acting like you're trying to save your best piece of china and act like I'm a human being!"

"She has a point." Scorpius said suddenly. "We're treating her like she's already dead and not a person who's just dizzy. We should treat her like we would any other day."

"Kay, Scorpius, I don't know about you, but I didn't miss the 'she has a life threatening condition' speech your father just gave us a moment ago. It is an entire possibility that she will break. Normal people don't just pass out from hitting their heads. James certainly didn't." Jenny said.

"Quit talking about me like I'm not here!" she exploded. "Yes, I'm bedridden for another day and need special health attentions, but that does not mean that I'm going to snap in two when the wind blows over me. Knock it off or so help me, I'll slap you all so hard you switch blood statuses!"

They all just looked at her, uncomfortable with her sudden outburst. Celeste realized that their was something that they were all reluctant to tell her, though it seemed that after a moment or so, Scorpius was the only one with enough balls to say it out loud.

"Celeste, there's something else." He said gently. "My dad says…he says that almost any type of physical activity could trigger it again. He says you can't play Quidditch, horseback ride, play football, none of it. If it could stop flow to your brain or at least reduce it, then it could potentially kill you and his job dictates that he can't let you do it."

"_What?_" she demanded frostily.

"You can't play"-

"No, I heard you. That 'what' wasn't a '_what did you say_' it was a '_I'm gonna give you a second chance to tell me what you did and it'd better be something different_.'" She snapped. "Now, wanna run that last one by me again?"

Scorpius took a deep breath, and then said "My father is asking Professor Baird to suspend you from the Quidditch team. He's also contacting your parents via owl and informing them of what he's found. I'm sorry Celeste."

"Scorpius, you'd better take it back right now!" she ground out.

"I'm sorry Celeste. I can't." he looked like he was in physical pain as he told her this.

"No. He crossed a line. I was fine when he told me I had a life-threatening disease. I was fine when he asked me to stay another day. I was even fine when he told me I'd be bedridden for the next day, unable to even sit up." She whispered, glaring at Scorpius' slate-gray eyes with such intensity that he was sure that they would burn out. "But he crossed a line when he did that. I don't care if it does end up being the death of me, I will die happily on a broomstick or a horse's back."

"Celeste," Scorpius said, his voice low as if speaking to a child, "You can't. You could die Celeste. You would literally die. Not pass out and end up here again because you were lucky that someone who cared about you deeply was there to sound the alarm. You would die, as in pass to the world beyond this one."

"I understand that Scorpius, but I don't think you understand me." Celeste said, gritting her teeth. "I don't give a rat's ass what your dad says. I'm going to play Quidditch."

"No, you aren't." Scorpius said.

"Yes, I am." She snapped.

"Maybe you didn't hear me correctly Celeste!" he snapped, jumping to his feet and towering over her. "YOU WILL DIE. As in a one-way journey, non-refundable ticket. You will die on the Quidditch field and leave all of us here, mourning your absence. Every single person in this room will have a broken heart, MYSELF INCLUDED! Do you honestly want to do that? Are you honestly that selfish that you would risk your own life just so you could play some stupid game?" His eyes were on fire like Celeste had never seen before and quite frankly, it scared her. To have him outright admit that he would be wounded by her passing made her do a double take, but not one that lasted more than a milli-second. She ignored her dizziness and hopped up, glaring at him with real irritation.

"Yes. I am that selfish. You may not ever understand it, but that is the one thing that is _mine_. That title, which I've held since I was eligible for the team. I've been Celeste Kiasco, the Ravenclaw Beater that whups ass on the field. I've taken my team to runner-up for the House Cup twice!" she yelled, her body quivering from the pent up adrenaline that it had no way to get rid of. "To you I may just be some stupid Mudblood who is willing to risk her life for some stupid sport, but you know what, to me, it's different. I'm not the only idiot out there on the field willing to face death or more! Every player on every team does it, even you and Jen! I have no more of a death wish than any other player on the field. You're forgetting how many stories circulate about your dad taking a header off of a broom from thousands of miles in the air! How many stories circulate about playing in the fog and the ice and rain and storms! We all face the same risk out there on the field and my disease does not add or take away from that risk! If you're asking me to step down from my position, then you all might as well do the same, because you know that there is just as much of a chance you could be knocked off of your broom as me."

"Celeste, you need to"- James began, but she cut him off.

"I don't _need_ to do anything. Just shut the hell up and sit the fuck down. And while you're at it, why don't you get over your petty crush on me as well, because that's never gonna happen James!" she snapped at him. He fell back, injured by her words, but she was pumped up now and nothing was going to distract her from tearing Scorpius Hyperion Malfoy a new one.

"Get over yourself!" he snarled at her.

"Why don't you? You walk around like you own the damned place, where ever you are! News flash: you don't. Neither does your daddy!" Celeste yelled at him.

"You know, for someone who's supposed to be the sweetest girl in school, you sure can be a awful big bitch!" he snarled at her.

"Take it back!" she demanded.

"Or what?" he challenged.

"OR I'LL TEAR YOUR FUCKING BALLS OFF YOU PALE TWAT! TAKE IT BACK!" she yelled.

"Alright, that's enough!" boomed Draco Malfoy.


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N: Wow, I am bizarrely slow on the draw this time. OrangeZest100 gets the Nunicorn this time, but regretfully no cookies. This Nunicorns name is Julio (pronounced with a Spanish accent, Hulio). LOVE HIM!**

**PS, apparently this Nunicorn is way back from Chapter Eleven, so the chapter twelve person is Elsyra. So here's your Nunicorn, named Mac. You'd better love him as well.**

Chapter 13:

They all flinched at the sound of his voice. Scorpius' face immediately changed from upset to chagrin. He dropped his gaze to the floor and his cheeks turned pink. Celeste immediately clamped her mouth shut and her cheeks blossomed into a fiery red blush. Draco Malfoy came back to them, the adults lingering by the hallways uneasily.

"Scorpius Hyperion Malfoy." He said slowly. "If I ever hear you use that kind of language again, especially with a lady, she won't have to own up on her threat. I'll do it for her. And as for you, act like a lady. You're both thirteen. I would have been beaten senseless for using language like that at thirteen."

"You did use language like that at thirteen." Harry contradicted.

"But not when my father could hear me." Draco replied, staring down his son. Scorpius' blush only got more pronounced and he muttered an indecipherable apology to his father. Malfoy made everybody leave, saying that their presence was agitating Celeste and he also had to tell her a few things. Once the room was cleared, he turned to her.

"Celeste, I understand that this is frustrating, but you also have to know that this is serious. This isn't the same as Scorpius taking a bludger to the head. Yes it would hurt him and yes he'd be in the Hospital Wing for quite a while, but if it hit you, you'd be dead. Your body is in such a fragile state that it very well could break." He said gently.

Celeste opened her mouth to say something, but he didn't give her the chance.

"I heard your arguments. Yes, I did take quite a few headers off my broomstick back in the day, but you doing that is fatal. Fatal, Celeste. You don't understand just how much everyone who was here cares about you. Parts of them would die with you Celeste." He said gently. "I know it hurts. But I'm going to have to ask you to refrain from playing Quidditch for a while. You also know it wouldn't be fair. Scorpius and Jen would be afraid to play and so would James. They'd all back out and you'd either have to forfeit as well or win by default and I have a feeling that neither is an outcome you want."

Celeste saw reason in his arguments and sighed, mournfully nodding. She would do as told for now. "I'll stop playing Quidditch, but that's all. I won't stop living my life because of some risk that could probably never happen again."

"It won't happen again if you're careful." He replied with a smile.

"I'll be fine." She insisted.

"What happened to the Ravenclaw motto 'Wit beyond measure is man's greatest treasure'?" he asked. "Since when were you all obsessed with winning?"

"Since everybody began to think that we were softies and easy to beat. I'll be damned if that will ever be thought about my House." She said.

"Language." He said softly.

"Darned." She corrected with an eye roll. "So what about holidays? What is even the point of you coming to Hogwarts?"

"I'll be there in case you have another episode. And as for what I'll do over holidays…lets cross that bridge when we get to it."

"Meaning?" Celeste demanded.

"Meaning let's cross that bridge when we get to it." Draco Malfoy said with a smile.

"You're hiding something." Celeste said.

"Maybe I am." He replied evasively. "But by no means does that mean that I have to explain myself to you. Just trust me; I took an Oath to heal the Wizarding population and I'd appreciate it if they trusted me enough to do my job."

Celeste bowed her head, pouting. It was her body, her illness, her health. Why couldn't she know? Draco knew she was pouting, but refused to do anything about it. He finished explaining things to her, took another sample of blood, and then left her with her thoughts.

This was so damned BORING! There was nothing to do here, nothing at all. She had no books, no friends, no nothing to keep her occupied. She sighed. Then, she heard her door creak. Pushing herself up as much as she could without getting dizzy, she saw Scorpius sneak back into her room with an armful of books.

"This is the homework from the past two days." He stage-whispered to her and passed her the books all 'covert-secret-ninja' like and then finished with "The blood work my dad's doing for you will take little over a half and hour. I'll be back in 25 minutes to swipe the books. If my dad sees you studying, he'll freak, big time, and we'll both be in deep trouble. Try to get it done before then."

Celeste smiled at the demon-child, despite herself. Scorpius helped prop her up and handed her her reading glasses that she wore. She flicked them on, ignored her dizziness and opened it to the first page.

_25 MINUTES LATER_

Celeste put down her quill proudly. This showed that, despite being forbidden to do anything that might cause her to remotely stress out, she was still capable of doing her own work. That she could accomplish something. It made Celeste proud to know that she'd finished 4 foot worth's of essays, read almost a total of 20 chapters in 3 textbooks, and she'd finished the pop quiz she'd been given in only 25 minutes with an 'illness.'

A knock at the door startled her. She jumped, and then whispered "Come in."

Scorpius walked in. "Did you finish?"

"Yep. Barely, but I finished." She whispered back to him. He dried the ink on her parchment with a spell and quickly packed all of her things into a messenger bag and shot her a smile.

"Bye." He whispered.

"Bye." She whispered back. "And Scorpius…thanks. I really needed that."

He smiled even bigger. "I know."

* * *

><p>"Time for your checkup." Draco said the next day. She sat on her bed, swinging her legs. Truth be told, she felt fine now. She didn't know what the huge fuss was. So she'd been dizzy! So what! She felt like she could sprint, backflip, do a roundhouse, and finish with a cartwheel. She felt absolutely fabulous.<p>

Anyway, Draco performed a few nonverbal spells over her, did some vitals by hand, and then deemed her healthy enough to return to school. He informed her that he would be arriving at the school in a few days and sarcastically told her to avoid running into people. She snarkily replied that she would do her best and they said goodbye to each other. She exited her room and was immediately ambushed by what seemed like half of the school. Okay, so it was only like 15 people, but still. It felt like half of the school. She said hello to them all. It was everybody who'd visited her yesterday and then a few extras. Happy greetings went all around, even between her and Scorpius, much to everybody's surprise. Harry and Ginny Potter smiled and gave her a hug, offering to take her back to the school via Portkey. Since the alternative was Side-Along Apparation and Apparating made her queasy, she said yes. They all grabbed a hold of the small ladle in front of them and it glowed an unnatural blue. A few stomach churning spins later, all of them thudded to a stop on the floor of Professor Athena's office.

"Students, please make your way to your Common Rooms. Mr. and Mrs. Potter, thank you for accompanying the students back to Hogwarts." Professor Athena said without looking up. The students nodded dutifully and left the office, leaving the adults together. Celeste latched herself onto Mai and Jen, all three of them running off and hiding out in the library.

"How are you?" Mairead asked worriedly.

Celeste laughed. "Quit worrying you guys. I'm fine; Healer Malfoy took good care of me while I was there. I'll be just fine so long as blood flow to my brain doesn't get cut off."

"I heard you got booted from the team." Mairead said sadly. "What are you gonna do?"

"I'll tell you what I'm gonna go." Celeste said forcefully. "I'm gonna sit in the stands and scream my freaking head off for our team at every game just like you do. Just because I'm not on the team doesn't mean squat. I'm not going to change who I am for some freaking disease. And the only way I will is if I'm bedridden and unable to fend for myself. And if it gets to that point, I'm making one of you shoot me and put me out of my misery."

"Not it!" Jen and Mai said automatically, pointing at the other one as if to say _'Pick her!'_

"I'm fine right now you guys, it's not like I want you to do it right now." Celeste said, annoyed.

"But you do want us to do it." Mairead clarified.

"No-You guys aren't listening!" Celeste said, sighing. She was about to go into another rant when Albus suddenly appeared and asked if he could borrow Mairead for a few.

"Its important." He insisted. Celeste didn't have a problem with it and Mairead followed Al out of the library, rolling her eyes. Jenny decided to drop the subject and spent the entire day in the library with her, reading and giggling and getting dirty looks from the Librarian.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: This ended quite unexpectedly…I didn't plan on ending here…Oh well. Now, if you go review, there's a Nunicorn involved (yes, again).**

***walks off muttering about bloody plot bunnies and how evil they are***


	14. Chapter 14

**Okay, so remember Chapter Ten? Yeah, seems like forever ago when I wrote it (August 24****th****). But, remember that long URL at the bottom that didn't work? Well, Just in case you truly want to know what the outfits they wore looked like, I re-found the pic I used as a basic guide and put a link to it on my profile. So the outfits should be up. **

* * *

><p>Chapter 14:<p>

"You asked anyone to the ball yet?" Jenny asked. "I asked James yesterday."

Celeste perked up almost immediately. "Annnnnddddd? Details woman!"

"He said yes!" Jenny cried and they both squealed incomprehensively for a few seconds in happiness.

"Oh, honey, I'm so happy for you!" Celeste cooed. "And in answer to your question, no, I haven't asked anyone."

"Not going to ask Scorp?" Jenny teased, but it seemed her heart wasn't in the tease. Actually, now that Celeste thought about it, she'd sounded a bit concerned.

"Nah, he'll probably want to go with someone else, like someone in his House." Celeste shrugged playing it off as if it were no big deal. "I'll just ask Lorcan or something. He knows me because of Lysander and we're somewhat friends."

"Really?" Jenny wrinkled her nose. "Not to insult your taste or anything, but he's kind of…I don't know how to say this…"

"An ass?" Celeste suggested. "I know, but he has his finer points that I can appreciate."

"Like? What finer points does a Hufflepuff have that a Ravenclaw can appreciate?" Jenny asked.

"Um…he's logical?" Celeste said. Jenny arched an eyebrow. "Okay, so we don't have anything in common. Big deal. That doesn't mean that we can't go to a ball together."

"You should go with someone you'd like to go with." Jenny admonished.

"I can go with whomever I damn well please." Celeste retorted. "I can have fun. Besides, just because we go together doesn't mean we'll be attached at the hip. He'll be able to do whatever he wants."

"That's the point of him being your date Cel, it's to stay and party _together_." Jenny said. "Want me to suggest someone?"

"Not particularly."

"You could go with Naga." Jenny said, ignoring her. "I know he's older than us, but who cares?"

"I thought you said he was going with Leighandra, the Slytherin Seeker?" Celeste said.

"Oh, right…How about Lysander than? He's a Ravenclaw too, if you really wanted to go with a Ravenclaw."

"The House wasn't really important. Besides, Ari tells me that he has plans to ask Rosie." Celeste commented dryly.

Jenny went to say something else, but Celeste beat her to it.

"Jen!" Celeste said sharply. "I said I'd find my own date." Jenny shrugged and moved onto another topic like her friend hadn't just bitched her out.

"So did you finish that Potions essay? I only got a foot and a half. I need six more inches on it." She said casually.

"God, I swear I'm turning into my cousin." Celeste muttered under her breath and said "Let me see it, I'll see what you're missing." Jenny joyfully handed over her scroll and Celeste read through it.

"Space the lines out more and add something about moonstones. You'll be fine. You covered everything pretty well." Celeste said, handing it back and sighing. "My head hurts." She muttered under her breath, massaging her temples. Jenny noticed.

"You alright?"

"Yeah, just a headache. I'll be fine; I have an appointment with Healer Malfoy in half-an-hour. I'll tell him then."

"You shouldn't wait that long." Jenny said worriedly.

"It's a headache Jen." Celeste said, flipping her hair irritably. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to be late for Charms and Professor Baird knows that I'll have my homework done, so I have no excuse. Later."

Celeste stood, gathering her books into her arms gave Jen a quick hug goodbye and walked to Charms class, massaging her temples and muttering about bullets when she suddenly ran into someone. Her body went rigid and she thankfully remained on her feet. Apologizing, she looked up. She'd just run into a boy with _green_ hair, no joke. He wore Hufflepuff colors and had twinkling eyes. He was really tall and had quite a bit of freckles. It was Skylar, a Hufflepuff.

"Whoops, sorry." She apologized. "I seem to be running into people a lot lately."

"Don't be silly _petite amie_," he replied. "The fault was mine. I wasn't watching where I was going." Merlin, he had a _French_ accent….

"Nevertheless, I need to stop running into people." She sighed.

"It's actually no coincidence that I'm here." The boy looked bashful now, blushing slightly. "I was wondering if you wanted to maybe go to the Winter Ball with me?"

He was blushing a definite bright red now, studying the immaculate floor at his feet. He seemed genuinely embarrassed that he'd asked her to the Ball.

"Uh…why?" she asked.

He was scarlet now. "Because I like you…Sort of…."

She was stunned. They'd spoken a few times and hung out with the same people, but she'd never imagined that he was harboring a crush! "Really?"

He was red as could be. "Just a bit."

She wanted to curse herself. She liked Skylar, but as a friend. And she already knew she wasn't going to say no. It wasn't in her heart. She'd already proved that with James and the only reason he hadn't asked her yet was because she'd blown up on him.

"Um, is it okay if we go as friends?" she asked carefully. She did cherish Sky as a friend, but the wrong move here and she was in another situation like the one with James and that had been too awkward for words for her.

His face fell a bit, but he was still happy-go-lucky, like his usual chill self. "Sure _mon cher_. Whatever makes you happy. Thanks." He gave her a friendly hug and continued to his class as Celeste jogged down the corridor to Charms. She took her customary place at the front of the class and began to unload her bag. The seat next to her was filled and she looked up, expecting Mairead's calm yet glowing face. Instead, Scorpius sat there.

"Hey." He said indifferently.

"Hi." She said cautiously. "Why are you sitting next to me?"

"Reasons. One, my dad taught me a few things about your condition and he wishes me to keep an eye on you while I can. The other is that I had a question for you." He replied in an insanely calm manner, one that made her want to claw him for some random, inexplicable reason.

"And that would be…." She trailed off.

"I was just wondering if you'd found anyone to go to the Ball with yet." He asked, looking up at her for the first time since he'd sat down.

Her throat constricted. "Uh, Skylar just asked me and I said yea"-

"Good." He cut her off. "I'll have to speak with him."

Celeste felt terrorized. "And why would you have to speak with him?" She demanded, miffed.

"Because I will be leaving halfway through the Ball with my father for the Christmas holidays, which means that there has to be someone there besides Madame Pomfery who knows what to do should you have an _episode_." Scorpius said. He then stood up, "Later." He walked to the back of the class, where his usual spot was awaiting him. Mairead was frozen at the back of the class, her eyes darting in between her and Scorpius.

_What was that all about_ she mouthed to Celeste.

_I don't know_ she mouthed back. Mairead shrugged and gently slid into her spot, as if it had been contaminated by Scorpius sitting there.


	15. Chapter 15

**Wow, I'm seriously bad at updating stories, aren't I? I feel horrid now…Well, here at long last, my lovelies, is Chapter 15. I know, it's about time, right?**

**Sadly, no Nunicorns this time. But how about a plate of virtual cookies for you all? Kay, well, on with the story. The setting? THE BALL! Some of you may or may not recognize the events… *eyebrow waggle***

Chapter 15:

Celeste went upstairs and sat on her bed, pulling out a book and flipping through its old and well worn pages. This feeling calmed her. Now, onto happier subjects...

_ She was in Music!_ She didn't know who else was in there, but Professor Ellie only took the best of the best for either Music class. She wanted to have a teacher create a dance class, for she knew that she and a few of her besties would so take it. It would be fun. She'd also gotten Earth Magic, which psyched her to no end. Or Ghoul Studies, which was bound to be both interesting and boring with Professor Binns as the teacher. Mairead joined her in the dorms later.

"Oh, hi Celeste!" she said cheerily, walking over to the trunk marked M.L.C, "I didn't see you come back."

"Hey Mairead." Celeste said, not looking up from her book. "How are you? I didn't see you at dinner really."

Mai laughed a bit as she opened her trunk and pulled out her nightclothes.

"Yeah, sorry about that. I'm good. I had a really...really interesting night. Lots of drama happened this afternoon that all just got resolved. And who knew that I could have managed to get a date, lose that date and get another one all in the same day?" she said, shrugging slightly.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, wait up. What? What are you talking about? Get a date, lose a date, then get another one?" Celeste asked, finally tearing her gaze from her book and looking at Mairead in interest. "What's going on in the crazy World of Mairead?"

Mai set her nightclothes on the bed and smiled again. She must have known that was bound to draw some curiosity.

"Well, Albus asked me this afternoon if I wanted to go with him as friends and I said yes." she explained, "He was convinced the person he likes was going with someone else. Well...turns out the person he likes liked him back and so I assume they are going together. So, Jericho from Gryffindor invited me, since I lost Albus as my date."

She ran her fingers through her hair and sat down on the edge of her bed.

"Yeah, it has been pretty crazy in the World of Mairead, that is for sure."

"Oh. Well, Skylar asked me before charms." Celeste said. "Remember that day Scorpius was in your seat and we joked the entire class period about how he must have left pureblood cooties on it?"

The two girls cracked up, unable to contain their laughter. Mairead wiped at her eyes, recovering faster than Cel. "Yeah, that was a good day. But seriously? That's awesome!"

"Mhm." Celeste agreed, distracted. "Some part of me wanted Scorpius to ask me but….wishful thinking, I suppose. He's going with Gabrielle. Well, I guess that's that. But enough about me. You must be going mad from those boys!"

"Ugh, it _was_ mad." Mairead said, a note of fondness creeping into her voice, "But a good mad. The type of mad that keeps you busy. As for Skylar, he seems nice enough, but he's also incredibly shy. Make sure he doesn't ruin your night by being a downer."

Her mouth dropped open a bit at Celeste's last statement

"Aw, I'm sorry." she said, "But maybe it's for the best. I'm sure you'll have a good time anyway."

Trying to think of a happier topic, Mairead brightened,

"On a brighter note, do you know what your dress is going to look like yet?"

Celeste smiled happily; glad they were moving to safer subjects. She wasn't good with her own touchy-feely crap. Other people's touchy-feely crap she could handle, but she had problems with her own.

"Yessss!" she said. "My mom's going to send it to me. I feel like an epic win when ever I look at it. Here, here's a picture of it." she pulled out a photo and passed it to Mairead. Mai seemed relieved that Celeste seemed eager to change subjects. She accepted the photo and glanced down, eyes wide.

"Oh my gosh, Cel, it's gorgeous!" she exclaimed, staring at it a few more moments before giving it back, "You will put everyone to shame in that dress, honestly!"

When it was first announced, Cel didn't think she was going to be really all that in to the ball, but truth be told, the more she thought about it, the more excited she was becoming.

"Thanks!" Celeste said, taking the photo back. They gossiped a little bit more, but then Mairead decided that she was too tired to stay up, so she went to bed. Slowly, the 3rd year dorm began to fill up and they were all as tired as Mairead had said she was and they all joined her in bed. Celeste, a few hours later, was inclined to join her as it was in the wee hours of the morning and the ball was, quite literally, _tomorrow_.

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><p>"Are you sure it isn't too much?"<p>

Mairead was standing in front of a mirror in the third year girl's dormitory with Celeste, who hadn't changed into her dress yet. She gave a little twirl so she could examine the dress once more.

"Mai, it's freaking amazing." Celeste assured her friend, "You look very, very pretty."

"Isn't it a bit too open at the shoulder, though?" Mai fretted, brushing her hand against the bare skin and shivering. She was usually not caught dead in something sleeveless.

"Nah, your hair will cover it." Celeste said, rearranging Mai's hair so it fell across her shoulders and covered them slightly, "See? That covers them up nicely."

"But, I…"

"Mai." She cut in, holding a finger up, "Do you like the dress?"

"Yes, of course, I think it's very lovely, but I'm afraid…"

"Then that's all that matters. Don't worry about it being too showy or whatever. It looks awesome and you like it, so go for it."

Mairead smiled, smoothing the folds of the dress down as she did so.

"Thanks, Cel. That's so kind of you to say."

"It's totally true. Now…I'm going to go change into my dress awhile."

"Would you like me to wait for you?" Mai asked as Celeste gathered up her dress and turned to go into the bathroom.

"Nah, you go on ahead. I'll catch you down there. You don't want to leave your date waiting, now do you?" Cel added the last bit with a slight smirk.

"You just really like teasing me about that, don't you?" Mairead smiled.

"Yep." Celeste answered before closing the door.

After Mairead left, Celeste stood up and retrieved her dress. She loved her dress. It fell off of her shoulders, decorated with silvery and precious aqua colored flowers. The main part of her dress was just as silky as it was silvery. It fell into a medium sized train that was split up the front with dozens and dozens of blue fabric blossoms. The underskirt of her dress was also silver and glitter and rhinestones and all sort of sparkly stuff that was arranged in an Art Nouvou type deal of flowers that appealed to aesthetically. All in all, it was gorgeous. Unlike Mai, she had no problem with baring her shoulders and lifted all of her gorgeous blonde curls up, piling them neatly on top of her head. She slipped on her silvery shoes and then took a reassuring deep breath. Calm down, she chastised herself, Skylar will be waiting and you can't stay up here all night. Calming herself, she left for the Ball.


	16. Chapter 16

**Alright...now shit is about to get real...so I'm bringing out the big guns here. For constructive criticism and helpful hints on how to keep my story fab...I WILL GIVE YOU DRACO MALFOY IN A PAIRING OF YOUR CHOICE.**

**I know, right?**

**And I was being serious. In return for helping me out, I will write you your own damn story, be it a oneshot or a long novel like this one, or even just a short novella. This isn't just if you're the first one to reply or whatnot. This is you helping me advance as a writer and better my skills so I can write a fantastic piece of literature. PM or Review your input, I don't care, I just want it.**

* * *

><p>Chapter 16:<p>

The ball was absolutely perfect, a glamorous beginning to a horrible night. Skylar was an utter gentleman and it made Celeste hate herself for not being able to like him back. Skylar didn't seem to mind, however, and she wasn't about to let her flaws ruin her night. They danced and had a grand old time and Celeste even began to remember that she'd somewhat been friends with Skylar in their first years before being in separate Houses began to pull them apart. Hopefully, now that she had her priorities straight, they could be friends again.

Mairead and her were reclining at tables, exhausted beyond belief as they crawled off the dance floor. Celeste usually didn't let herself get caught dead dancing in public, even though she'd joined the dance club; in her mind, it was too embarrassing. A couple of sugar rushes later, she _really_ didn't care.

"Oh, hey Skylar!"

Skylar turned away from his conversation when he heard his name be yelled, leading Celeste's gaze to follow his. A good friend of his, Gabby, had called his name and was walking towards her with her date in tow...Scorpius.

Celeste's face automatically assumed an expression of polite disinterest, waiting patiently for them to leave. She responded warmly to Gabby when she greeted her, for she truly had nothing against Gabrielle- she was as genuine as they came right after people like Mai, Jenny, and Leighandra- she just really wished she hadn't dragged Scorpius Malfoy over here.

"Do you guys want more drinks?" Jericho asked the girls, who shrugged and nodded. Skylar volunteered to help Mai's date get more drinks and the two boys left. Mai leaned on Celeste, looking up at her with a knowing smile.

"What?" Celeste asked with a repressed smile, unwilling to uncross her arms from across her chest like a safety shield.

"You know darn well 'what.'" Mairead replied, sitting up and bumping her gently. "Goodness, you're like an open book, girl. I know you're hurting because he's taken apparently, but don't let him ruin your night."

Celeste tried to smile, but it came out more like a grimace.

"And uncross your arms! You're sitting here like you're trying to hold yourself to prevent yourself from falling apart and covering up the dress that you simply couldn't shut up about." Mairead chastened, making Celeste genuinely smile and chuckled. She looked at her friend.

"And _this_, girlie, is exactly why we're friends." Celeste said. Mairead smiled and the boys returned with the drinks. Once there was more sugar in her body, Celeste's smile returned and she let Skylar drag her back onto the dance floor.

That's when the ball started to go all to hell.

In the midst of a particularly upbeat song, they heard a loud piercing scream that put an end the night _real_ quick. Turning to find out what in Merlin's name had made someone yell like that, they saw a first year, in the door way, with a wand at her neck. Several men dressed in black robes behind her were eerily familiar, as she'd had them described to her numerous times by Hermione and Ron, or Harry, when she visited James and Albus.

Long black robes with a scary silver mask with a fake expression on it's face, most commonly a skull as well. Death Eaters.

Celeste's first initial response was to laugh. The first year was terrified because some seventh years had decided to play a prank and scare everyone? Sure, they'd probably get in trouble like there was no tomorrow, but so many of those who'd fought in the war had children here at Hogwarts. They often times did remembrances and it wasn't uncommon for the seventh years to prank first years afterwards.

There hadn't been any memorials or remembrances recently.

The ball was frozen in confusion. Sure, they didn't feel threatened, but it sure had ruined the night and whoever was behind this would be feeling some hating for a while.

The Headmistress rose in a willowy sort of way that reminded Celeste of reeds dancing in the wind, with how graceful yet intimidating she was. She eyed the men in anger, her wand not yet drawn but she was awfully close to it.

"How _dare_ you invade Hogwarts Grounds without my permission!" she snapped, waving her hand at them. "Release that student and begone!"

It was obvious that some sort of magic had been cast with the flick of her hand and the voice of her anger. The student immediately stumbled forward and a nearly invisible magic shield, likely the enchantment of a silent _Protego, _slammed down behind her, protecting the students from immediate dangers. The men immediately whipped out their wands and began searching for weak points. Against seven men, the ward would not last forever, no matter how strong Professor Athena's magic was.

By now, people seemed to have realized that they weren't students. They would have drawn the anger of the Headmistress if they were students, yes, but she wouldn't have banished them from the Grounds. Rather, she'd have sent them to her office and dealt out punishment personally for impersonating Death Eaters. But when their sleeves fell back and revealed Dark Marks, that's when people began to freak. Seventh years did take it to extremes, but no one was stupid enough to prance about with a Dark Mark on their arm, even a fake or temporary one.

"Teachers!" Professor Athena's voice rose above them all. "Do your duties to protect the students. I need all available hands keeping _them_ out and the rest escorting students out of the Great Hall!"

The teachers leaped to obey her command, though it was clear the teachers in charge of the students had no clue where to evacuate the students to. The obvious choice would have been the Great Hall, but the Great Hall was currently under attack by seemingly Death Eater wannabe's intent on doing harm.

"Professor Athena!" Draco Malfoy's voice joined those giving orders. Celeste hadn't realized he'd attended the ball, though now she realized he'd probably volunteered to be an extra chaperone. "Remember my warnings. The students should be evacuated from the entire _school_."

Professor Athena nodded, though everyone else looked mystefied. "Obey Healer Malfoy! Evacuate them from the school. Someone send word to the Ministry, if you can!"

"What's going on Dad?" Scorpius asked, worming his way to the front of the crowd of students, who'd pushed as far back as possible away from the attackers.

"This is why you had an Auror with you for the first few months of school." Draco said grimly. "If I had not been here and Harry had not accepted my request, it would have been you with a wand on your throat. Come, the students are leaving."

"But...we have no where to go!" cried some students. Some kids had been planning to stay over break because parents were out of the country on their own holidays. They had an empty home full of no protection waiting for them, if the staff planned to send them back to their homes.

"Where to?" a teacher asked, ignoring the students and turning their attention to Healer Malfoy, who'd apparently assumed the role of leader while everyone else battled to keep the failing ward up to give the students time to leave.

"My manor is not big enough to house all of the students, though it will keep them safe for the time being." Draco replied immediately, touching a table with his wand. It glowed blue.

"Fifty students at a time. Scorpius, you're going first. Explain to Astoria what's happened." Draco ordered. Students, fifty at a time, as ordered, began to hesitantly touch the table, joining Scorpius at his home. Celeste's turn came and she dragged her friends up with her. They touched the table and the Portkey was activated instantly. Just like if someone had grabbed her violently behind her navel, she was dragged instantly to Malfoy Manor. The students stumbled back from where the table had landed as the landing jolted them. Almost immediately afterward, the table disappeared again to retrieve more students. The area was cleared, as that was apparently where the table landed every time it showed up again. Astoria was settling the students that were panicking and owls were flying in and out of the windows in a flurry. House elves ran amuck giving tea to all of the students, trying to help the one woman calm down was was seemingly like 500 students in one place. Scorpius was given the job of sorting the students out and getting them situated so that the Manor wasn't in complete pandemonium when officials began to arrive. He walked up to Celeste.

"Come, bring your friends. This way." he ordered, taking them up to the Second Floor in the East Wing of the Manor. He opened a door to a bedroom, suitable to house several people.

"Stay here until the chaos is sorted out." he ordered shortly. Celeste knew there were people out there abnormally good at containing their stress and turning it into something productive- as a Ravenclaw, she had to be one of them- but this was ridiculous. Five hundred people in your house and you _don't _throw a hissy fit or have a mental breakdown. Give the boy a medal.

"Scorpius?" James said quietly. His gaze jerked to him, right before he closed the door.

"Hm?"

"Thanks." James said quietly, hugging his little sister and brother. "Thanks, a lot."

Scorpius, who seemed to realize it took a lot of work for James to choke down his pride to thank a Slytherin, a Malfoy at that, just smiled and shrugged. "I'd like to think you'd do the same for anyone else. Sit tight, your dad's on his way after Hogwarts."


End file.
